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PRINCETON,    N.     J. 


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BV  2035  .E55  1876 
Ellinwood,  Frank  F.  1826- 

1908. 
The  "great  conquest" 


cJ.t    (^    iT-cV    * 


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THE 


"GREAT    CONQUEST;" 


OB, 


MISCELLANEOUS  PAPERS  ON  MISSIONS. 


BY 

F.    F.    ELLINWOOD. 


►•  ■♦»-»-^4- 


N  E  W    YORK: 

WILLIAM^  RANKIN,"  23    CENTRE    STREET, 

MDCCCLXXVI. 


CONTENTS. 


Introductory  Note. 
I. — The  Prophetic  Basis  of  the  Mission  Work. 
II. — The  Lojric  of  the  Gospel. 
III. — The  New  Testament  Estimate  of  Man. 
IV. — The  Apostolic  Examples  of  Missionary  Policy. 
V. — The  Primitive  and  the  Modern  Mission  Work  Compared. 
VI.— The  Greatness  of  the  Work  to  be  Done. 
VII. — The  Array  of  ilissionary  Forces. 
VIII. — The  Argument  of  Success. 
IX. — Other  than  Xumerical  Results. 
X. — The  Cause  of  Missions  owned  of  God  in  the  Outpouring  of 
the  Holy  Spirit. 
XI. — Do  Converted  Heathen  Help  Themselves? 
XII. — Instances  of  the  Spontaneous  Extension  of  the  Truth. 
XIII.— The  Cost  of  Missions. 

XIV. — Foreign  Missions  Essential  to  the  Life  of  the  Church. 
XV. — Colonization  and  Commerce  as  Means  of  the  World's  Evan- 
gelization. 
XVT. — Woman's  Work  for  Missions. 
XVII. — Buddhism  in  its  Practical  Relation  to  Miseiona. 
XVI If. — The  Bondage  and  Degradation  of  Brahminism, 
XIX. — Mohammedanism  and  Christian  Missions. 
XX. — Truth  and  Error  Tested  on  the  Same  Soil. 
XXL— Sir  Bartle  Frcre   on  the  Change  of  Native  Sentiment  in 
India. 
XXII. — The  Great  Change  in  the  Policy  of  the  Indian  Government. 
XXIII. — The  Great  Opening  in  Japan. 

XXIV. — Reasons  for  Protestant  Missions  in  Roman  Catholic  Countries. 
XXV. — The  Evangelization  of  the  American  Indians. 
XXVI. — Diversity  in  Missionary  Organizations. 
XXVII. — The  Criticism  of  Travelers  upon  the  Mission  Work. 
XXVIIL— The  Specific  Objections  Commonly  Made. 

XXIX. — The  Favorable  Testimony  of  Travelers  and  Others  to  the 

Value  of  Missions. 
XXX. — Foreign  Missionary  Statistics  of  the  Protestant  Churches. 
XXXI. — What  Can  Be  Done  for  the  Cause  of  Missions  ? 


IPv^RODUCTORY  NOTE. 

\  THSO LOGIC >^:v,- 

This  unpretending  little  volume  does  not  aspire  to  the  dig- 
nity and  order  of  a  connected  treatise.  Amid  other  and  press- 
ing duties,  these  detached  papers  have  been  thro^\ai  together 
for  the  perusal  of  those  who  lack  time  or  opportunity  for  ex- 
tended reading,  on  missionary  topics.  A  few  of  the  fundamen- 
tal grounds  on  which  the  great  work  of  Missions  rests,  have 
been  merely  touched  upon,  rather  by  way  of  suggestion  than 
otherwise,  in  the  hope  that  a  more  careful  and  exhaustive 
treatment  may  be  given  by  others.  Only  a  few  of  the  facts  of 
missionary  history  have  been  submitted;  nor  is  it  necessary  to 
do  more  than  to  allude  to  the  prominent  points  by  which  the 
relations  of  the  Modern  Church  to  this  great  cause  may  be 
seen:  the  fundamental  principles  on  which  it  rests  are  gen- 
erally accepted.  To  a  considerable  extent,  the  testimony  of 
those  who  have  observed  the  mission  work  in  various  lands 
has  been  presented.  Many  objections  and  cavils  have  been 
met  ;  due  importance  has  been  given  to  auxiliary  influences, 
such  as  colonization  and  the  extension  of  commerce  ;  and  an 
effort  has  been  made  to  group  together,  partially,  at  least,  the 
aggregate  results  of  missionary  enterprises  up  to  the  present 
time. 

In  looking  abroad  over  the  wide  fields  already  occupied, 
and  in  summing  up  the  results  thus  far  realized,  I  have  per- 
sonally gained  a  profound  impression  of  the  success  which 
God  has  given  to  this  cause;  and  if  these  pages  shall  in  any 
degree  serve  to  impart  that  impression  to  others,  my  aims  and 

hopes  will  have  been  met. 

r.  F.  ELLINWOOD. 

New  York,  May  1,  1876. 


THE  PKOPEETIC  BASIS  OF  THE  INHSSION  WORK. 

QxE  of  the  most  important  requisites  to  an  earnest  mission- 
ary spirit  in  the  Church,  is  a  thorough  nnderstanclLng  of  the 
truth  of  God's  word  on  the  subject.  Doubtless  one  cause  of 
the  too  common  indifference — not  to  say  scepticism — inregai'd 
to  Missions,  ■wUl  be  found  in  a  virtual  ignorance  of  the  strong 
and  explicit  teachings  of  the  Scriptures. 

No  prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament  are  clearer  or  more 
varied  than  those  which  predict  the  conquests  of  the  Gospe 
and  the  establishment  of  Christ's  Kingdom  over  all  nations. 

God's  first  promise  to  Abraham — "  In  thee  shall  all  famihes 
of  the  earth  be  blessed" — denoted  a  great  world-wide  cove- 
nant. Its  limitations  were  made  only  for  a  time,  and  for 
special  reasons.  And  the  ins^Dired  Psalmist  foresaw  this 
blessed  consummation  when  he  said,  "All  the  ends  of  the 
world  shall  remember,  and  turn  unto  the  Lord :  and  all  the 
kindreds  of  the  nations  shall  worship  before  thea" 

Generations  later,  Isaiah/ in  his  visions  of  the  future,  ex- 
claimed, with  joyful  expectation,  "  AU  nations  whom  thou  hast 
made  shall  come  and  worship  before  thee,  O  Lord,  and  shall 
glorify  thy  name." 

The  very  process  of  development  and  conquest  was  fore- 
told. The  law  should  "go  forth  out  of  Zion,  and  the  word  of 
the  Lord  from  Jenisalem."  Many  nations  should  arise  and 
say,  "  Come,  let  us  go  up  to  the  mountain  of  the  Lord,  and  to 
the  house  of  the  God  of  Jacob." 

It  was  foretold  that  commerce  should  be  subsidized  for  the 
ends  of  Christ's  kingdom  :  "  The  multitude  of  camels,"  and 
**  the  dromedaries  of  Midian  and  of  Ephah "  should  bring 
gold  and  incense.     The  sea  also  should  becom'e  a  highway : 


8  THE    GREAT   CONQUEST. 

"  Surely  tlie  isles  shall  wait  for  me,  and  the  ships  of  Tarshisb 
first  to  bring  thy  sons  from  iax,  their  silver  and  theii-gold  with 
them,  unto  the  name  of  the  Lord  thy  God  and  to  the  Holy 
One  of  Israel." 

Governments  and  diplomacies  should  minister  to  the  pro- 
gress of  the  Redeemer's  Kingdom  (as  we  are  witnesses  in  our 
time):  "  The  Kings  of  Sheba  and  Seba  shall  offer  gifts.  All 
nations  shall  serve  Him." 

It  was  shown,  nevertheless,  that  this  should  be  a  peaceful 
con(]t^est — not  like  the  battle  of  the  warrior,  with  "  confused 
noise  and  garments  rolled  in  blood."  "  He  shall  come  down 
like  rain  upon  the  mown  grass,  as  showers  that  water  the 
earth." 

The  rejection  of  Christ  by  the  Jews,  and  the  extension  of  a 
covenanted  salvation  to  the  Gentiles,  was  clearly  indicated 
long  befoi-e  it  occurred. 

When  Christ  came,  He  clearly  announced  that  in  His  lifting 
up  He  would  draw  all  men  unto  Him.  And  before  His  as- 
cension He  epitomized  the  duty  and  work  of  the  Church  in 
that  great  and  last  commission,  "Go  teach  all  nations,  bap- 
tizing them  in  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of 
the  Holy  Ghost." 

This  command  was  attended  vrith  the  assurance  that  all 
power  was  given  unto  Him  in  heaven  and  in  earth ;  and  with 
the  promise  that  in  the  exci'cise  of  that  power  He  would  be 
with  His  people  "  alway  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world." 

Nothing  in  the  teachings  of  our  Saviour  is  more  emphatic 
than  this  one  final  and  summary  lesson;  that  the  great  errand 
of  His  Church  on  earth  is  to  reclaim  the  lost  race  of  men  for 
whom  He  died.  Angels  might  have  been  commissioned  to 
this  work,  but  He  has  laid  it  upon  His  own  redeemed  follow- 
ers. They  are  to  be  the  salt  of  the  earth,  the  light  of  the 
world  ;  and  there  sounds  through  all  the  ages  that  .stining 
appeal  to  gratitude,  "  Fieely  have  ye  received :  freely  give." 

The  development  of  the  missionary  spirit  in  the  early 
Church  forms  an  interesting  study.     Even  by  His  discii^les  the 


PEOPHETIC   BASIS    OF   THE   MISSION   WORK.  d 

full  meaning  of  our  Lord's  great   coinmand  was  not  fully 
understood  at  first. 

But  it  is  a  very  significant  fact  that  the  Pentecostal  baptism 
of  the  Chtu'ch  should  have  occurred  at  a  time  when  the  repre- 
sentatives of  many  lands  were  assembled  in  Jerusalem,  and 
that  the  very  symbols  of  the  great  outpouring  should  have 
been  tonr/ucs  of  fire  to  indicate  a  world-wide  salvation.  The 
SiDirit  of  God  had  appeared  in  the  shekinah  and  in  the  form  of 
a  dove ;  but  now,  to  denote  the  proclamation  of  the  gospel  in 
all  languages  and  to  all  nations,  He  came  in  the  vision  of 
cloven  tongues.  Temporary  sojoui-ners,  who  had  come  from 
the  valley  of  the  Euphrates  and  the  shores  of  the  Caspian, 
from  the  sands  of  Arabia  and  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  fi'om  the 
borders  of  the  Lybian  Desert  and  from  the  Island  of  Crete, 
from  the  northern  limits  of  Syria,  and  the  various  countries  of 
Asia  Minor,  and  even  from  far-off  Rome,  looked  with  amaze- 
ment upon  the  Galileean  disciples  as  tbey  heard  them  speaking 
in  all  the  languages  of  their  native  lands. 

Yet  with  all  this,  even  Peter  had  not  yet  perceived  that  "  God 
is  no  respecter  of  persons,"  or  that  "  in  every  nation  he  that 
feareth  Him  and  workpth  righteousness  is  accepted  with  Him  ;" 
and  it  was  only  by  slow  degrees  that  Jewish  believers  came  to  • 
accept  the  full  broad  truth  that  salvation  had  been  purchased 
for  the  race. 

Phillip  does  not  appear  to  have  gone  even  to  Samaria  till 
after  the  "  persecution  that  arose  about  Stephen  "  and  others  of 
that  same  dispersion,  though  tliey  "  traveled  as  far  as  Phenice 
and  •  Cyprus,"  preached  the  word  "  to  none  but  unto  Jeius 
onhj^^''  until  they  came  to  Antioch. 

But  the  Church  was  at  last  to  be  brought  to  a  full  under 
standing  of  her  great  mission  to  the  nations. 

One  who  had  been  an  intolerant  persecutor  was  divinely 
announced  as  a  "  chosen  vessel "  unto  God  "  to  bear  His  name 
before  the  Gentiles  and  kings  and  the  children  of  Israel." 
Immediately  upon  his  conversion  he  preached  the  Gospel  to 
the  Jews  in  their   synagogues   in   Damascus,  and   disputed 


10  THE    GREAT   CONQUEST. 

"with  the  "  Grecians "  in  the  same  city  ■witli  such  effect  that 
they  sought  to  kill  him.  But  wider  and  wider  became  the 
range  of  his  sympathy  and  aspiration,  till  he  came  to  "  know 
no  man  after  the  flesh." 

Sent  out  from  Antioch  with  Barnabas  at  the  Spirit's  call, 
he  went  into  the  mountains  of  Asia  Minor,  where  it  would 
seem  that  he  found  afield  wide  enough  for  all  his  effjrt;  and 
he  preached  to  lieathen  as  well  as  to  Jews.  But  still  further 
was  he  called  forth — ^into  Macedi>nia,  and  to  Corinth  and 
Athens,  and  at  length  to  Rome.  His  learning  had  qualified 
him  to  stand  in  the  great  national  capitals  and  chief  centres 
of  the  world,  and  his  Roman  citizenship  secured  respect  and 
influence  and  even  protection. 

He  knew,  moreover,  the  spirit  and  scope  of  Judaism  and  its 
relations  to  Christianity ;  he  understood  also  the  philosophic 
errors  of  his  time  ;  and  how  fully  he  could  fathom  the  dogTada- 
tion  of  heathenism,  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans  fully  attests. 

Only  from  such  knowledge  of  the  moral  ruin  of  pagan  na- 
tions could  he  have  gained  that  intense  zeal  which  in  the  midst 
of  toils  and  hardslnjis  and  perils  unto  death  glowed  undimin- 
ished to  the  last. 

Because  he  realized  the  condition  of  perishing  millions,  he 
felt  that  his  life  was  not  his  own.  For  Christ's  sake  he  was  a 
"  debtor  both  to  the  Greeks  and  to  the  Barbarians." 

As  to  the  successes  gained  by  Paul  and  his  co- laborers,  they 
saw  even  in  their  own  time  the  institutions  of  the  gospel  estab- 
lished most  firmly  in  centres  lying  beyond  the  limits  of  the  old 
heritage  of  Israel. 


II. 

THE  LOGIC   OF  THE  GOSPEL. 

As  we  have  viewed  it  from  the  stand-point  of  prophecy,  the 
triumph  of  Christ's  kingdom  in  all  lands  is  as  certain  as  the 
foundations  of  Christianity  itself.   We  cannot  separate  the  doo- 


THE   LOGIC   OF   THE   GOSPEL.  11 

trines  of  tlie  Word  of  God  from  the  authority  of  its  proplietic 
announcemeiits.  We  cannot  comfort  our  souls  with  the  de- 
votional Psalms  of  David,  and  yet  discard  his  prediction  of 
"  a  dominion  that  shall  extend  fi-om  sea  to  sea,  and  from  the 
river  unto  the  ends  of  the  earth."  We  cannot  entrust  our  per- 
sonal salvation  to  the  risen  Saviour  and  yet  doubt  His  omnip- 
otence in  reclaiming  the  lost  race  of  mankind.  If  "  all  power 
in  lieaven  and  earth"  is  not  in  Him,  then  lie  has  no  power 
that  can  save  a  soul.  In  a  word,  to  question  the  feasibility 
and  the  sure  success  of  Missions,  were  to  throw  up  the  Chris- 
tian faith  as  a  whole,  and  leave  ourselves  with  no  hope  and 
without  God  in  the  Avorld. 

If,  then,  there  were  no  bright  indications  as  yet  in  the  actual 
survey  of  the  work,  if  no  encouraging  results  had  been  at- 
tained ;  still  our  course  as  Christian  men  would  be  clear  : 
we  sh<iuld  still  go  forward,  trusting  in  the  assurances  of  Him 
who  has  promised,  and  obeying  the  mandates  of  Him  who  has 
commanded.  ]\Iainly  the  mission  work  is  a  work  of  faith. 
Results  attained  are  only  earnests  of  that  complete  success  to 
whidi  the  word  of  God  is  pledged.  A  genuine  faith  will  ever 
bear  this  truth  in  mind.  When,  therefore,  pastors  complain 
that  they  encounter  much  of  criticism  and  doubt,  in  regard  to 
Missions,  they  should  perhaps  suspect  that  this  is  only  symp- 
tomatic of  a  more  ominous  scepticism,  which  strikes  at  the 
foundations  of  the  Gospel  altogether.  The  man  who  has 
reached  the  conclusions  of  Universahsm  in  respect  to  the  mil- 
Uons  of  Asia  and  Africa,  is  in  reality  a  Universalist  in  his  own 
community,  if  he  dared  to  confess  it. 

The  scepticism  of  the  Church  is  often  more  cowardly  than 
that  of  the  avowed  atheist.  It  dares  strike  at  Missions  in  the 
safe  distance  of  the  heathen  world,  when  it  would  hardly  lose 
caste  by  the  expression  of  heterodox  views  at  home,  and  would 
much  less  dare  to  yield  up  even  a  dubious  personal  hope  of 
salvation.  But  what  is  the  logic  of  all  this  ?  If  the  heathen 
are  net  lost,  then  the  human  race  is  not  lost,  and  there  is  no 
Saviour  and  no  salvation.     If  the  heathen  are  not  lost,  the 


1^2  THE   GEEAT   CONQUEST. 

first  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Eomans  is  an  unintelhgible 
flourish  of  rhetoric,  and  much  of  the  clearest  reasoning  of  the 
New  Testament  is  a  mere  fabric  of  unmeaning  words. 

The  apostle  Paul  expressly  states  that  "  The  wrath  of  God  is 
revealed  fi'om  heaven  against  aU  ungodliness  and  unrighteous- 
ness of  men,  who  hold  the  truth  in  unrighteousness."  And 
he  immediately  proceeds  to  show  that  this  trutb,  held  in  un- 
righteousness, is  "  that  which  may  be  known  of  God,"  and 
which  "  is  manifest  in  them."  He  says  that  the  invisible 
things  of  God — even  His  power  and  Godhead — are  clearly 
seen  and  understood  "by  the  things  that  are  made,"  so  that 
mankind  "  are  without  excuse." 

He  distinctly  arraigns  the  whole  heathen  world  on  these 
solemn  charges,  viz.  :  that  "when  they  knew  God,  they  glori- 
fied Him  not  as  God,"  but  were  unthankful,  and  vain  in  their 
imaginations,  darkened  in  then-  foohsh  hearts,  puffed  with  the 
vanity  of  wisdom  even  in  their  folly;  that  they  ''changed  the 
glory  of  the  incorruptible  God  into  an  image  like  to  corruptible 
man,"  and  to  birds  and  beasts  and  creeping  things;  that  they 
"changed  the  truth  of  God  into  a  lie,  and  worshipped  and 
served  the  creature  more  than  the  Creator,  who  is  blessed  for- 
ever;" and  that  it  was  because  "  they  did  not  like  to  retain 
God  in  their  knowledge"  that  they  were  finally  given  over  to 
a  reprobate  mind  and  allowed  to  sink  into  all  those  loathsome 
and  unnatural  vices  of  which  even  brutes  are  never  guilty. 

Are  even  Christians  sometimes  appalled  and  almost  stag- 
gered by  the  thought  that  great  nations  are  under  the  doom 
of  sin  and  death  ?  They  are  not  more  deeply  moved  than  was 
the  inspired  writer  of  these  charges.  He  gave  his  life  to  the 
rescue.  Instead  of  being  tempted,  as  too  many  are,  to  ques- 
tion God's  jastice  in  the  matter,  he  laid  the  responsibility  on 
men.  He  recited,  as  above,  the  history  of  their  guilt  step  by 
step;  and  yet  he  loved  them,  sharing  the  divine  pity  of  Christ, 
who  had  died  for  their  salvation ;  he  too,  in  his  measure,  made 
■  his  life  a  sacrifice  for  those  whom  he  had  so  terribly  accused. 

Now,  the  Church  docs  not  reject  this  testimony  of  the  Scrip- 


THE   NEW   TESTAMENT   ESTIMATE   OF   MAN.  13 

tures.  And  yet  indifference  to  the  cause  of  IMissions  leads 
logically  to  a  virtual  rejection  ;  it  is  tlie  only  alternative. 
Paul's  deep  conviction  of  man's  guilt  and  the  gospel's  power 
would  fire  the  whole  Church  with  zeal  for  the  evangelization 
of  all  men;  and  conversely  the  exercise  of  an  earnest  mission- 
ary, spirit  would  go  far  to  establish  her  doctrines  on  a  scrip- 
tural basis. 

One  of  the  best  methods  of  insuring  soundness  of  view  in 
regard  to  the  great  doctrines  of  human  ruin  and  a  divine  sal- 
vation, is  to  act  upon  them  with  becoming  earnestness. 

Shall  the  Church  never  cease  to  stand  on  the  defensive  1  Must 
she  ever  spend  so  much  of  her  force  in  apologetics — stamping 
out  the  sjDarks  of  heresy  within  her  own  fold,  and  defending 
herself  against  the  great  outer  world  of  doubters  by  the  dem- 
onstrations only  of  cold  statement  and  orthodox  resolu- 
tions? The  array  of  her  full  power  for  the  conquest  of  the 
world  wou'd  carry  with  it  a  gi-eater  weight  of  conviction 
than  a  thousand  tomes  of  polemics. 


HI. 

THE  NEW  TESTAIMENT  ESTIMATE  OF  MAN. 

The  pride  of  race  constitutes  a  great  obstacle  to  benevolent 
effort  and  to  just  dealing  toward  the  heathen. 

There  is,  even  in  Christian  communities,  a  contempt  for 
inferior  races,  which  goes  far  to  neutralize  the  missionary 
spirit.  In  our  own  country  it  has  long  been  indulged  toward 
the  African  race.  It  still  exists  among  certain  classes  toward 
the  Indian  tribes.  And  this  sentiment  seldom  makes  allowance 
for  the  causes  which  have  operated  to  degrade  the  Negro  and 
the  Indian,  and  for  the  responsibility  and  guilt  of  the  superior 
race  by  which  they  have  been  so  greatly  wronged.  Nor  is 
this  spifit  careful  to  estimate  men  by  the  possibilities  which  a 
kind  Christian  culture  miaht  find  in  them.     The  heathen  are 


14:  THE    GKEAT    CONQUEST. 

taken  at  the  worst ;  and  scarcely  anything  like  duty  in  refer- 
ence to  them  is  recognized.  Absolute  slavery  is  not  tolerated 
by  the  prevaling  sentiment  of  this  age  ;  but  sometliing  of  the 
spirit  of  slavery  still  exists.  Everywhere  in  the  East  the 
Anglo-Saxon  treats  the  Chinaman  or  the  Hindu  as  an  inferior 
being,  scarcely  claiming  the  respect  due  to  humanity.  The 
traveler  is  pained  almost  constantly  by  the  rough  treat- 
ment visited  upon  coolies  and  servants.  The  same  spu'it  is 
manifested  toward  the  Mongolian  immigrants  who  have  begun 
to  swarm  on  our  own  shores.  All  this  is  derogatory  to  a  just 
estimate  of  humanity  and  fatal  to  the  spuit  of  Missions. 

Men  who  see  nothing  but  the  droll  aspects  of  the  "  Heathen 
Chinee,"  as  the  humorists  are  pleased  to  call  him,  will  not  feel 
deeply  concerned  that  in  China  four  hundred  miUions  of 
the  human  race  are  perishing  out  of  Christ. 

Now  it  is  to  the  New  Testament  that  we  look  for  the  true 
view  of  man.  There  is  no  other  philanthropy  Mke  that  which 
grows  out  of  the  love  of  Christ. 

Nothing  renders  humanity  so  precious  as  the  fact  that  the 
Son  of  God  has  been  clothed  upon  with  it,  and  has  suffered  the 
death  of  the  cross  in  order  that  He  might  raise  it  up  into  His 
own  image  and  into  fellowship  with  God.  No  man,  whatever  the 
color  of  his  skin,  or  the  gi-ade  of  his  intellect,  or  the  degrada- 
tion of  his  morals,  can  be  despised,  since  a  Saviour's  blood  has 
been  paid  for  his  ransom. 

The  assertion  that  the  mere  advance  of  civilization  has  led 
to  the  overthrow  of  oppressions  and  to  a  more  just  regard  for 
human  rights,  cannot  be  sustained  by  facts.  In  some  respects 
the  ancient  civihzations  were  far  advanced;  and  yet  the  very 
sages  of  antiquity  taught  doctrines  in  regard  to  the  relations  of 
men  which  were  simply  monstrous. 

Says  Prof.  J.  H.  Seelye,  in  his  lectures  on  Missions : 

"  Aristotle  argues  that  slavery  is  necessary  to  the  existence 
of  the  true  household.  Every  true  household  must  consist  of 
freemen  and  slaves.  The  freeman  needs  his  slaves,  as  the 
artisan  needs  his  tools.      The  slave  is  his  master's  tool — an 


THE    KEW   TESTAMENT   ESTIMATE    OF   MAN.  15 

animated  tool,  but  still  only  a  tool.  There  can  be  but  little 
more  love  for  a  slave  than  for  a  liorse  or  an  ox,  and  tlio 
thought  that  any  justice  could  be  due  a  slave  never  seems  to 
have  entered  the  Greek  mind,  Plato  regarded  it  as  one  of 
the  marks  of  an  educated  man  that  he  despised  his  slaves. 
When  a  slave  was  brought  into  the  court  to  give  testimony,  he 
was  always  put  io  the  torture.  Torture  accompanied  the 
testimony  of  the  slave,  just  as  the  oath  accompanied  that  of 
freeman  ;  and  the  Attic  orators,  Lysias,  Antiphon,  Isaeus, 
Isocrates,  Demosthenes,  and  Lycurgus  have  all  given  their  ap- 
probation to  tliis  procedure." 

And  Paul  doubtless  found  the  same  low  view  prevailing  in 
the  minds  of  his  Greek  auditors  on  Mars  Hill,  when  he  pro- 
claimed with  deep  enthusiasm  that  "  God  hath  made  of  one 
blood  all  the  nations  of  men  for  to  dwell  on  all  the  face  of  the 
earth."  And  the  modern  missionary  has  often  encountered, 
even  among  those  who  should  have  sympathized  with  his 
Avork,  a  cruel  contempt  for  those  whom  he  has  sought  to 
elevate.  "  Do  you  propose  to  preach  to  the  Hottentots  ?"  said 
an  intelligent  Dutch  Boer  to  Mr.  Moffatt ;  "■  you  might  better 
preach  to  apes  and  baboons,  or  if  you  like  I  will  call  in  my  dogs." 

"  Xothing  but  powder  and  ball  will  subdue  these  savages," 
said  a  European  officer  of  a  certain  heathen  tribe ;  but  large 
numbers  of  those  same  savages  have  since  been  won  to  Christ. 

"  The  extermination  of  the  unenlightened  inhabitants "  of 
India  has  been  justified  by  members  of  the  British  House  of 
Commons,  though  fortunately  not  of  late.  To-day,  on  that 
same  floor,  the  work  of  ^Missions  in  India  is  commended. 

"  In  a  proclamation  issued  by  Sir  B.  D'Urban,"  saj-s  the  au- 
thor of  "  The  Great  Commission,"  "  the  Caffirs  were  denounced 
as  '  irreclaimable  savages,'  and  this  in  the  very  face  of  the 
fact,  as  stated  in  the  dispatch  of  Lord  Glenelg,  that  under 
the  guidance  of  their  Christian  ministers  they  have  built  places 
of  public  worship  ;  have  erected  school -houses,  and  sent  their 
children  thither  for  instruction;  have  made  no  inconsiderable 
advance  in  agriculture  and  in  commerce  ;    and   have  estab- 


16  THE    GEE  AT    CONQUEST. 

lished  a  trade  ainoiinting  to  not  less  than  $150,000  per  annum 
in  the  purchase  of  Euro[)ean  commodities." 

It  is  well  known  that  the  philosophy  of  Rousseau  and  Voltaire 
inculcated  a  sort  of  aristocracy  of  intellect ;  and  that  it  despised 
the  ignorant  and  debased.  Indeed  this  has  always  been  the 
tendency  of  philosophy  :  it  has  nowhere  sympathized  with  the 
masses.  It  has  not  recognized  the  image  of  God  in  man, 
simply  as  man.  It  has  sometimes  sent  the  death  chill  of  its 
scepticism  down  tlu-ough  all  ranks  of  society,  but  it  has  never 
raised  the  lowly  and  the  debased  into  pui'ity  and  intelligence 
and  happiness. 

And  the  teachings  of  oar  most  popular  theorists  to-day — 
what  is  their  iniluence?  If  the  African  and  even  the  Cauca- 
sian is  simply  a  higher  development  of  the  ape,  what  is  man 
that  anybody  "  should  be  mindful  of  him  ?  "  Instead  of  being 
made  "  a  little  lower  than  the  angels,"  he  was  originally  made 
but  little  higher  than  the  worm. 

Such  teachings  are  fatal,  not  only  to  the  missionary  spirit, 
but  to  all  true  benevolence  and  philanthropy.  They  would 
eliminate  all  that  is  noblest  and  best  in  our  civiHzation  and 
remand  society  back  to  barbarism. 

In  strong  contrast  with  all  this,  the  Word  of  God  lifts  the 
veil  and  discloses  man's  glorious  future. 

In  the  rapt  visions  of  John,  in  Patmos,  there  appeared  in 
the  midst  of  the  eternal  throne,  "  a  Lamb  as  it  had  been  slain;" 
and  around  Him  were  four  and  twenty  elders,  with  a  mul- 
titude numbeiing  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  and  thou- 
sands of  thousands,  chanting  the  praises  of  Him  who  had  re- 
deemed them  to  God  by  Bis  blood  out  of  every  kindred  and 
tongue  and  people  and  nation,  and  had  made  them  unto  their 
God  "  Kings  and  priests.''' 

Is  this,  then,  the  glorious  fellowship  in  reserve  for  these 
despised  races  ?  Shall  the  Mongohan  and  the  Camanche, 
the  Hottentot  and  the  Dyak,  be  exalted  to  the  dignity  and 
glory  of  priests    and  kings   unto   God   in   the   kingdom   of 


APOSTOLIC    EXAMPLES    OF   MISSIONARY    POLICY.  17 

heaven  ?  No  system  of  philosophy  or  ''  Religion  of  Hu- 
manity "  has  presented  so  bright  a  destiny  for  the  human  race 
as  this; 


IV. 

THE  APOSTOLIC  EXAMPLES   OF  IkUSSIONAEY 
POLICY. 

It  was  a  fundamental  idea  in  the  mission  work  of  the  Apos- 
tohc' period,  tliat  missionaries  were  representatives  —  prima- 
)ily  of  the  Divine  Master  Himself,  and  secondarily  cf  the 
Chm'ch.  They  were  not  individual  adventurers  doing  their  own 
wih  merely  ;  they  were  servants  engaged  in  the  work  of  those 
who  sent  them.  The  very  name  Apostle  signified  one  who  was 
"  sent." 

The  "  Seventy  "  were  commissioned  by  Chi'ist  to  preach  m 
the  villages  ;  and  to  Him,  on  their  return,  they  rendered  their 
reports.  As  they  were  the  first,  and  as  they  were  honored  with 
miraculous  power  and  success,  they  might  be  deemed  worthy  of 
a  high  place  in  the  history  of  the  Church  ;  but  so  enth'ely  was 
their  stewardship  held  fi-om  Christ  Himself,  that  the  spu'it  of 
inspiration  has  allowed  them  no  opportunity  for  human  hon- 
ors. The  Papal  Church  has  never  been  able  to  canonize  them 
among  its  saints ;  for  not  even  their  names  are  given. 
And  yet  they  have  a  more  glorious  registry.  They  are  enroll- 
ed by  Him  who  sent  them,  and  who  said  on  their  return,  "  Re- 
joice not  that  the  sphits  are  subject  unto  you,  but  rather  rejoice 
that  yuur  names  are  ivriiten  in  Heaven.'^ 

The  very  last  commands  of  our  Saviour  to  His  disciples  were 
of  the  nature  of  a  commission,  "  Go  ye  therefore  and  teach  all 
nations."  And  after  His  ascension,  the  disciples  were  still  semt 
forth — sometimes  by  the  Spirit,  at  other  times  by  the  brethren 
or  the  Church. 

Thus  the  preaching  of  the  Grospel  was  at  all  times  invested 
with  the  solemn  authority  of  ambassadorship. 


18  THE    GREAT   CONQUEST. 

Phillip's  short  discourse  to  the  Eunuch,  Ananias'  visit  to 
Saul  at  Damascus,  and  Peter's  message  to  Cornelius  at 
Cesarea,  were  all  divinely  ordered. 

When  Barnabas  went  to  Antioch  from  Jerusalem,  and  when 
Saul  was  brought  thither  from  Tarsus,  it  was  upon  the  author- 
ity of  the  brethren.  And  in  the  first  formal  missionnry  enter- 
prise of  the  Church  at  Antioch,  Barnabas  and  Saul,  at  the 
Spirit's  prompting,  were  "  separated  for  the  work  "  whereunto 
God  had  called  them,  by  the  laying  on  of  hands.  It  was  to  the 
Church  that  the  command  of  the  Spirit  came. 

These  early  examples  are  important  as  showing — 

(1.)  That  the  great  work  of  spreading  the  Gospel  is  not  the 
work  of  individual  men  and  women,  but  rather  of  Christ,  or  of 
the  Church  which  in  this  respect  represents  Christ.  That  sol- 
emn service  at  Antioch  was  not  performed  by  the  two  men 
who  went  forth  ;  but  by  those  who  laid  their  hands  upon 
them.  Barnabas  and  Saul  were  merely  theu'  commission- 
ers. All  alike  were  responsible.  The  laying  on  hands  was  a 
virtual  pledge  for  the  whole  enterprise.  It  were  well  if  this 
conception  of  the  niission  work  were  to  possess  the  whole 
Church  in  our  time  ;  if  instfead  of  feehng  that  the  self-sacrifice 
involved  in  giving  the  Gospel  to  the  heathen  belongs  only  to 
thefeio  ivho  go,  all  Christians  were  to  realize  that  this  is  also 
their  work,  and  that  in  one  way  or  another  some  proportion- 
ate sacrifice  is  due  from  them. 

And  yet  there  are  thousands  of  professed  Chi-istians  who, 
while  hving  in  luxury  and  ease,  and  while  contributing  almost 
nothing  to  the  cause,  set  up  not  merely  a  high,  but  a  very  un- 
reasonable standard  of  sacrifice  for  missionaries.  They  seem 
to  feel  that  nothing  short  of  absolute  immolation  should  be 
expected  in  those  who  actually  go  ;  and  tbey  are  ready  to  join 
with  infidels  and  scofters  in  the  severest  criticisms,  if  the  lone- 
liness of  separation  from  home  and  friends,  and  the  depressing 
influences  of  unwholesome  chmates,  are  mitigated  by  anything 
like  comfort.     They  are  scandalized  if  even  the  dictates  of 


APOSTOLIC    EXAMPLES    OF    MISSIONARY    POLICY.  19 

common  prudence  and  economy  are  observed  in  suitable  pro- 
visions for  their  liealtli  and  tboir  prolonged  efficiency. 

(2.)  The  early  Cbru'ches  left  us  the  example  of  earnest 
prayer  for  missionaries.  Barnabas  and  Saul  went  forth  from 
a  meeting  for  prayer  and  fading.  Nor  is  it  to  be  supposed 
that  the  brethren  ceased  to  pray  at  the  close  of  the  farewell 
meeting. 

They  followed,  their  missionaries  with  their  supplications  and 
sympathies ;  and  when  Paul  was  cruelly  di-iven  from  Antioch 
in  Pisidia,  and  stoned  by  the  mob  at  Iconium,  and  dragged 
out  and  left  for  dead  under  the  walls  of  Lystra,  he  doubtlessly 
felt  great  comfort  in  the  thought  that  they  who  had  commis- 
sioned him,  were  still  remembering  him  at  the  throne  of  grace. 

(3.)  It  was  the  policy  of  the  early  Church  to  send  out  not 
tliose  who  could  best  be  spared  from  the  work  at  home,  but 
the  ablest  and  the  best.  Barnabas  was  one  of  the  foremost  lay- 
men of  the  Church — a  man  who  had  consecrated  his  entire 
property  to  the  Christian  cause,  and  with  it  his  personal  ser- 
vices. He  was  "  a  good  inan,"  the  inspired  record  says,  "  and 
full  of  the  Holy  Ghost,"  Yet  this  man  was  sent  abroad,  and 
with  him  the  very  "  chief  est  of  the  apostles."  The  leading 
men  of  the  time  gave  themselves  to  pioneering,  and  almost 
scorned  to  "  build  on  other  men's  foundations."  As  to  local 
work,  they  ordained  subordinates  in  every  city,  who  sliould 
care  for  the  Churches  already  formed,  while  they  themselves 
carried  their  conquests  into  "  the  regions  beyond." 

We  do  not  push  these  facts  to  an  extreme  construction  as 
bearing  upon  the  modern  Church,  for  the  cases  are  not  exactly 
parallel.  There  is  a  lesson,  however,  in  the  case  which  is  of 
universal  application.  It  is  as  true  now  as  ever,  that  the  very 
highest  gifts  of  mind  and  heart  are  needed  in  the  Mission 
work.   The  early  examples  are  a  standing  rebuke  to  that  spirit 

which  would  reserve  the  best  talent  for  those  who  have  heard 

« 

the  Gospel  so  long,  that  even  the  most  brilhant  genius  can 
now  scarcely  render  it  attractive. 


20  THE    GREAT    CONQUEST. 

(4.)  The  mission  work  of  the  early  Church  was  not  crippled 
by  the  narrow  andseJative  plea  of  "  heathen  enough  at  home." 

There  tvere  heathen  indeed  in  Asia  Minor.  Paul  had  been 
alternately  worshipped  and  persecuted  in  the  mountain  villages 
of  his  own  country,  by  downright  idolaters  ;  and  doubtless  his 
own  judgment  would  have  led  him  to  devote  his  life  to  the 
extension  of  the  "  Churches  of  Asia." 

But  when  he  was  "  minded  "  to  turn  his  steps  toward  this 
city  or  that,  God  had  a  far  different  plan  for  him  to  follow. 
The  image  of  a  Macedonian  was  sent  to  call  him  across  the  Hel- 
lespont. He  was  to  carry  the  Gospel  into  Greece  and  Rome, 
and  thus  prepare  for  its  spread  Westward  throughout  Europe. 

Was  this  a  wise  pohcy  ?  Subsequent  history  has  given  it  a 
wonderful  vindication. 

The  Churches  of  Asia  Minor  were  of  the  Greek  type.  By 
their  tendency  to  speculation,  and  their  love  of  Monastic  se- 
clusion, they  were  unfitted  for  the  aggressive  work  which  the 
spread  of  Christianity  required.  With  the  exception  of  the 
ISTestorians,  the  Oriental  Churches  were  not  missionary 
Churches. 

"  Their  clergy,"  says  Dean  Milman,  "  stood  aloof  from  the 
world,  the  anchorites  in  their  desert  wildernesses;  the  monks  in 
their  jealousy  barred  convents;  and  secure,  as  they  supposed,  of 
their  own  srlvation,  they  left  the  rest  of  mankind  to  inevitable 
perdition."  But  the  Christianity  which  was  planted  on  Eui'o- 
pean  soil,  and  which  there  caught  the  spirit  of  universal  conquest 
that  characterized  the  Roman  Empire,  became  aggressive  from 
the  first.  It  conquered  and  then  utilized  the  Roman  power. 
It  cast  down  all  the  idolatries  of  the  pantheon  and  of  the  colo- 
nies, and  put  the  cross  of  Calvary  in  their  place.  Through 
fires  of  persecution  and  seas  of  martyrs'  blood,  it  passed 
finally  even  to  the  throne  of  the  Caesars.  In  its  conquests 
•through  Europe,  it  pursued  the  lines  of  commerce  and  follow- 
ed up  the  victories  of  the  Roman  eagles  with  the  doctrines  and 
rites  of  the  Chui-ch. 

The  fact  that  Eui-opean  nations  became  Christian,  and  that 


nUMITIVE    AND    MODERN    MISSIONS    COMPARED.  21 

from  thom  the  Gospel  was  brought  to  the  Amencan  Continent, 
seems  to  have  been  due  to  the  wipe  policy  which  made  Paul 
and  others  Foreign  Misdonarieii,  even  while  a  gi'oat  work  still 
remained  to  be  done  at  home.  Nay,  many  of  the  most  valu- 
able portions  of  the  Word  of  God  owe  their  origin  to  the  mis- 
sion work.  IMost  of  the  strong  churches  to  which  Paul's 
Epistles  were  written,  and  through  which  the  aggressive 
power  of  his  influence  was  transmitted  to  later  generations, 
icere  mission  Churches  planted  on  heathen  soil.  Had  the 
work  of  the  early  Church  been  confined  to  one  country  or 
race,  we  should  never  have  received  the  noble  legacy  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Romans,  with  its  profound  philosophy  of  salva- 
tion, nor  the  Corinthian  Epistles,  with  their  matchless  delinea- 
tions  of  charity  and  their  illustrations  of  the  resurrection. 
There  would  have  been  no  epistle  to  the  Philippians,  had  not 
Paul  heeded  the  Macedonian  call  to  a  foreisfu  field. 


Y. 

THE    PRBIITIVE    AND     THE    MODERN    MISSION 
WORK   COxMPARED. 

It  is  admitted  that  the  cause  of  modem  Missions  is  placed 
imder  conditions  somewhat  different  from  those  which  attended 
the  successes  of  the  early  Church.  The  conquests  of  the 
Apostolic  age  had  many  advantages  not  now  enjoyed. 

The  Apostles  were  divinely  endowed  with  the  gift  of  tongues 
and  the  power  of  miracles :  they  had  also  tlie  vivid  impres- 
sions of  men  who  had  seen  our  Lord.  It  was  no  slight 
thing  for  the  Apostle  John  to  be  able  to  say,  "  That  which  we 
have  heard,  which  we  have  seen  with  our  eyes,  which  we  have 
looked  upon  and  our  hands  have  handled,  declare  we  unto 
you  that  ye  also  may  have  fellowship  with  us." 

And  Paul,  after  tlie  overwhelming  vision  near  Damascus, 
and  the  unspeakable  revelations  of  the  third  heaven,  could  not 


22  THE   GKEAT   CONQUEST. 

fail  to  impart  to  others  that  deep  sense  of  divine  reality  which 
such  experiences  had  given  him.  There  was,  undoubtedly, 
more  of  moral  earnestness  in  the  leading  minds  of  that  age, 
than  now  exists  in  even  the  most  devoted. 

And  there  was  still  another  advantage  in  their  favor. 
Under  the  one  Roman  civilization  the  Apostles  and  their 
successors  moved  along  the  same  social  plane  in  which  they  lived. 
The  people  of  Asia  Minor  and  Eastern  Europe  were  not 
separated  from  them  by  such  wide  differences  in  manners  and 
customs,  habits  of  life,  color,  race,  and  social  condition  as 
those  which  raise  the  Anglo-Saxon  above  the  Mongolian  or 
the  Hindu. 

The  early  Church  found  a  further  advantage  in  the 
wide  extension  of  the  Hellenic  language  as  a  vehicle  of 
the  truth.  Instead  of  the  difiicult  labor  of  modern  mis- 
sionaries in  translating  the  Scriptures  into  scores  and  hundreds 
of  languages,  some  of  which  have  had  to  be  reduced  to  vsritten 
form,  and  even  to  grammatical  construction,  the  early  Church 
found  eveiywhere  the  Septuagint  version  of  the  Old  Testament, 
which  had  been  translated  for  three  hundred  years ;  so  that 
even  the  far-off  Bereans  were  able  to  test  the  Apostles'  preach- 
ing by  a  reference  to  "  the  Scrij)tiu'es."  Not  only  were  all  the 
epistles  to  the  chm'ches  of  Europe  and  Asia  written  in  the 
Greek,  but  so  far  had  that  language  affected  the  thought  of 
the  nations,  that  Paul,  even  in  writing  to  the  Romans 
(].,  16),  used  the  word  "Greeks"  generically  for  all  Gentiles. 

Moreover,  the  types  of  paganism  which  were  represented 
in  the  Roman  Pantheon,  were  far  less  fonnidable  than  are  the 
hoary  systems  of  the  Buddhists  and  the  Brahmins.  Judaism 
was  indeed  obstinate  and  unyielding  ;  but  its  resistance  was 
weakened  by  the  fact  that  its  own  teachings  had  constantly 
foreshadowed  Christianity.  On  the  whole,  it  was  a  help ;  while 
Mohammedanism,  which  now  controls  the  Holy  Land,  claims 
to  build  upon  a  wreck  of  Christianity :  it  regards  Christian 
worship  as  a  virtual  idolatry' :  it  is  fortified  with  that  most 
impregnable  spuit,  contempt. 


PRIMITIVE   AND   MODERN    MISSIONS    COMPARED.  23 

But  on  the  other  hand,  the  modem  missionary  enterprise 
has  its  advantages  The  early  v/ork  was  an  experiment — 
to  human  view  a  dubious  one,  and  it  necessitated  miraculous 
proofs.  Only  a  handful  of  disciples  at  first  received  the  Great 
Commission;  and  but  for  their  special  means  of  success,  all 
men  would  have  laughed  them  to  scorn. 

But  our  work  is  no  experiment.  We  have  a  treasured  his- 
tory of  success.  The  promise  of  our  Lord  to  be  with  His 
people  in  the  execution  of  His  command,  has  found  perpetual 
fulfilment  for  eighteen  centuries.  When  Paul  preached,  all 
Europe  was  idolatrous :  every  race  now  known  as  Christian 
was  swayed  either  by  the  polished  heathenism  of  Greece  and 
Borne,  or  by  the  barbarous  rites  of  the  fierce  Northern 
hordes. 

The  whole  fabric  of  our  Christian  civilization  is  a  proof  of 
the  feasibility  of  missionary  conquest.  We  are  ourselves 
among  the  fi'uits  of  its  success.  On  our  part  we  have  but  to 
continue  a  work  which,  advancing  step  by  step,  has  culminated 
in  the  choice  blessings  of  our  own  favored  heritage. 

Moreover,  the  great  body  of  the  Church  is  now  more  capa- 
ble of  united  and  efficient  action  than  Avas  the  ApostoHc 
Church.  There  are  no  Apostles,  no  such  leaders  as  the  chosen 
band  of  inspii-ed  men  already  refeiTed  to  ;  but  the  average 
membership  is  far  above  that  of  the  Corinthian  or  the  Galatian 
Churches.  At  no  previous  period  has  there  been  so  high  a 
degree  of  intelligence  in  the  laity  as  now.  Never  before,  save 
in  some  exceptional  cases,  were  so  large  a  proportion  of  the 
members  of  the  visible  Chiu'ch  capable  of  instruction  and 
active  Christian  effort.  Though  in  the  early  times  there  were 
many  bright  examples  of  female  piety  and  efficiency,  as  in 
Phoebe  and  Priscilla  and  the  "  beloved  Persis,"  yet  never  before 
waS'there  such  an  array  of  Christian  women  capable  of  activo 
service,  whether  in  individual,  or  in  organized  effort. 

JMoreover,  we  have  in  our  time  a  wider  sphere  of  influence 
and  a  much  greater  an-ay  of  co-efficient  agencies.  The  light 
of  Christianity  now  radiates  not  from  Jerusalem  alone,  but 


24  THE    GREAT    CONQUEST. 

from  a  thousand  centers  in  tins  country  and  in  Europe.  We 
have  the  mighty  power  of  the  press  and  a  complete  postal 
system,  instead  of  Paul's  sole  resort  to  manuscript  letters  sent 
by  personal  friends.  'We  have  organized  systems  of  education, 
and  such  facilities  of  commercial  exchange  that  even  a  Sab- 
bath-school by  its  penny  collections  may  reduplicate  its  own 
blessings  in  a  mission-school  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  globe. 

The  ends  of  the  earth  are  now  practically  brought  together. 
The  five  months  occupied  by  Paul  in  his  voyages  from  Anti- 
och  to  Rome  would  now  suffice  for  a  tour  around  the  world. 
Yokohama  and  Hong-Kong  are  practically  nearer  to  our 
Atlantic  seaboard  than  were  Detroit  and  Chicago  to  the  gen- 
eration that  preceded  us.  It  is  true  that  all  these  facilities 
are  nothing  to  the  Mission  cause  Avithout  the  vital  power  of 
God's  Spuit ;  but  we  have  that  Spirit  surely  promised,  if  con- 
ditions are  fulfilled. 

Material  instrumentahties  and  spiritual  agencies  must  go 
together.  The  very  same  verse  (Ps.  Ixxii.  15)  which  says  that 
"  the  gold  of  Sheba  shall  be  given  to  Him,"  immediately  adds  : 
"Prayer  also  shall  be  made  for  Him  continually,  and  daily 
shall  He  be  praised." 

The  Church  falls  far  behind  the  work  which  she  might  ac- 
complish ;  but  the  actual  results  gained  by  modern  Missions 
will  compare  more  favorably  with  the  success  of  the  first  cen- 
tury than  is  generally  supposed.  There  is  greater  care  now 
than  then  in  receiving  professed  converts  to  full  membership  ; 
and  yet  in  numbers  the  modem  Mission  work  will  bear  com- 
parison. 

Eev.  Robert  Hunter,  in  his  History  of  the  Misfiions  of  the  Free 
CJiurch  of  Scotland,  says  :  "  Our  belief  is  that  Protestant  Chris- 
tianity in  India  has  advanced  more  rapidly  than  the  Gospel 
did  in  the  fii'st  centuries  •  that  its  progTCSs  has  been  quicker 
than  that  of  Brahminism  when  in  conflict  with  the  aboriginal 
faiths,  and  that  it  has  made  way  faster  than  either  Mohammed- 
anism or  Romanism  in  the  East.     What  has  disg'uised  and 


THE  GREATNESS  OF  THE  WORK  TO  BE  DONE.     25 

dwarfed  the  appearance  of  magnitude  wliicli  the  Indian  Church 
would  otherwise  have  been  admitted  to  possess,  has  been  the 
tremendous  extent  t>{  the  laud  to  be  subdued.  Viewed  abso- 
lutely, native  Chiistians  are  a  comparatively  numerous  body  ; 
looked  at  relatively  to  the  miUions  of  nominal  Hindus  and 
Mohammedans,  they  appear  few  indeed.  But  the  power  of 
Christianity  will  be  incalculably  under-estimated  if  it  be  sup- 
posed that  the  number  of  baptisms  which  have  ali'eady  taken 
place  fairly  measure  the  standing  which  it  has  vdthin  our  E&st- 
em  empire.  From  every  mission  rays  of  influence  have  gone 
forth  which  have  more  or  less  affected  even  the  remotest  vil- 
lages in  the  country," 


YI. 

THE  GREATNESS  OF  THE  WORK  TO  BE  DONE. 

There  are  two  opposite  and  extreme  views. 

On  the  one  hand,  there  is  a  faithless  spirit  of  discourage- 
ment, which  treats  the  mission  cause  as  utterly  chimerical 
and  impracticable.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  a  flippant 
style  of  representation,  which  speaks  of  the  conquest  as 
almost  complete. 

A  true  missionary  spirit  will  deeply  appreciate  the  great- 
ness and  difficulty  of  the  Avork,  and  thus  be  led  to  a  Divine 
trust.  It  is,  indeed,  a  great  work.  Aside  from  the  rivalry 
of  false  systems,  there  is  the  vis  inertice  of  a  world's  sinfulness 
and  apostasy,  which  only  the  Spirit  of  God  can  move. 

And  the  mass  to  be  overcome  is  appalling,  when  we  con- 
sider its  almost  countless  millions.  For  example,  in  China  the 
throngs  that  swarm  in  the  streets  and  bazaars ;  in  the  country 
thoroughfares,  and  in  the  fields  ;  in  the  myriad  boats  and 
barges  that  crowd  the  harbors  and  the  rivers,  almost  stagger 
our  faith.     We  are  startled  by  the  thought  that  to  supply 


26  THE   GREAT   C0XQUE3T. 

that  nation  with  one  preacher  to  the  thousand,  would  require 
four  hundred  thousand  missionaries.  Dr.  Duff  has  estimated 
that  a  full  supply  of  the  benighted  millions  of  India  would 
require  the  entire  Christian  ministry  of  Scotland  and  make 
large  drafts  upon  her  pious  laymen. 

Again,  we  find  great  obstacles  in  the  innate  love  of  super- 
stition among  ignorant  races  ;  in  the  pride  of  old  systems;  in 
the  jDOwer  of  traditions;  in  the  love  of  country  and  race  ;  in 
tlfiB  common  resistance  of  all  Orientals  to  any  kind  of  change  ; 
in  the  plottings  of  paid  priesthoods  ;  in  the  fostered  vices  of 
men  whose  false  systems  have  put  no  restraint  upon  their  in- 
dulgence ;  in  the  political  jealousy  of  heathen  and  Moslem 
governments,  and  their  too  well  founded  fear  of  Anglo-Saxon 
aggression  ;  and,  most  of  all,  in  the  wrongs  which  have 
everywhere  been  visited  \ipon  weaker  races  by  nations 
calling  themselves  Christian.  When  we  consider  the  com- 
bined influence  of  all  these  obstacles,  our  wonder  is  that 
anything  has  been  accomplished.  It  is  a  proof  of  Divine 
power  that  so  great  success  has  been  gained. 

It  is,  indeed,  a  mighty  conquest  which  we  have  undertaken. 
"We  wrestle  not  against  flesh  and  blood,  but  against  prin- 
cipalities, against  powers,  against  the  rulers  of  the  darkness 
of  this  world,  against  spiritual  wickedness  in  high  places." 
We  stem  the  swollen  tide  of  all  human  vice,  and  prejudice, 
and  apostasy,  and  sin.  No  other  enterprise  is  so  vast,  so  beset 
with  obstacles,  so  difficult  in  every  way,  as  the  work  of  Mis- 
sions. 

To  merely  subjugate  great  nations,  as  did  Alexander  or 
Caesar,  was  counted  a  wonderful  achievement.  But  what  was 
that  mere  slaughter  and  humiliation  compared  with  this 
work,  which  must  not  merely  conquer,  but  transform ;  which 
must  raise  up  the  whole  mass  of  the  people,  uproot  their  old 
errors,  overcome  their  prejudices,  eradicate  their  vices,  and 
subdue  their  passions  ;  which  must  reconstruct  their  social 
order,  enlighten  their  ignorance,  improve  their  thrift  and 
comfort  in  life,  give  them  homes  and  schools  and  churches — 


THE   GREATNESS   OF   THE   WOKK   TO    BE'  DONE.  27 

in  a  word,  do  for  them  all  that  the  same  gospel  has  done  for 
us  ?  This  is  the  one  groat  Avoik  of  this  world,  and  only  a 
Divine  power  in  our  hands  can  accomplish  it.  It  is  for  this 
that  time  endures  and  the  world  survives.  When  this  shall 
be  fully  achieved,  the  restitution  of  all  things  shall  have  come. 
This  is  nothing  less  than  the  upbuilding  and  establishment  of 
Christ's  Kingdom  upon  the  earth. 

But  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that  this  great  and  difficult 
work  has  been  undertaken  by  a  Divine  power.  Help  has 
been  laid  on  One  who  is  mighty  to  save.  Has  the  world 
been  as  a  potter's  clay  under  His  hand  for  these  ages,  and  is  Ho 
not  able  to  accomplish  that  to  which  all  history  points? 
Shall  He  not  fulfill  the  great  end  and  aim  as  He  has 
promised  ? 

The  small  beginnings  of  gospel  influence  have  spread  over 
the  continent  of  Europe  :  the  same  can  be  done  for  China. 
Vast  as  is  the  mission  enterprise  of  our  day,  it  is  not  a  doubt- 
ful experiment :  it  is  but  the  repetition  of  authentic  history. 
Its  difliculties  only  point  to  its  one  sure  hope  of  success. 

Yet  it  is  proper  to  add,  that  the  first  and  immediate  aim 
of  the  mission  work  has  limitations  Avhich  may  relieve  the 
minds  of  those  who  are  given  to  discouragement,  in  view  of 
the  vastness  and  difficulty  of  the  world's  conquest.  What 
is  it  that  missionary  enterprise  has  undertaken,  and  when 
can  it  be  said  to  have  attained  success  ? 

By  the  terms  of  its  stewardship,  it  cannot  be  held  respon- 
sible for  the  conversion  of  every  man,  woman,  and  child  on 
heathen  soil.  That  has  not  yet  been  accomplished  in  any 
Christian  land. 

The  specific  charge  of  the  mission  work  is  to  give  the 
gospel  to  the  nations  that  are  in  darkness. 

This  may  be  fully  accomplished,  and  yet  leave  multitudes 
out  of  Christ.  But  if  in  any  heathen  country  this  great 
enterprise  shall  have  made  the  gospel  generally  known  to  the 
people;  if  it  shall  have  established  churches  and  schools,  and 
laid   the   foundations   of  a   self-supporting   and   aggressive 


28  THE   GREAT   CONQUEST. 

Christianity  ;  if  it  shall  have  revolutionized  the  leading 
sentiment  and  molded  the  chief  thought  of  the  country,  and 
made  the  Christian  faith  supremely  influential,  then  it  may 
be  said  to  have  accomplished  its  work.  Home  missionary 
elFort  and  all  those  evangelizing  agencies  which  are  employed 
in  Clmstian  countries  may  still  be  needed.  But  the  Foreign 
missionary  work  will  have  reached  success. 


VII. 

THE  ARRAY  OF  MISSIONARY  FORCES. 

To  AN  observing  Christian  traveler,  one  of  the  most  cheer- 
ing aspects  of  the  mission  work  is  found  in  the  aggregation 
of  agencies  which  are  now  employed  for  the  enlightenment  of 
unevangelized  countries. 

If  one  is  ever  tempted  to  discouragement  when  he  con- 
siders the  inadequacy  of  the  means  which  any  one  mission- 
ary organization  can  employ,  his  hojDCS  will  be  revived  if  he 
will  look  further,  and  talte  into  view  the  raany  organizations 
that  are  engaged  in  the  common  work.  Not  one  man,  or  a 
score  of  men,  scattered  here  and  there  over  the  wide  wastes 
of  the  world,  but  many  thousands  are  at  their  posts — giving 
their  toil,  and,  if  need  be,  their  lives,  to  the  great  common 
cause. 

Contemplating  merely  the  desolations  which  spread  over 
wide  continents,  we  ask  almost  in  despair,  "  Who  is  sufl&cient 
for  these  things  ?"  But  when  we  see  that  along  nearly  all  the 
great  coast  lines  of  the  world,  and  on  the  islands  of  the  sea, 
beacon-lights  are  already  burning  ;  that  into  all  the  chief  lan- 
guages of  the  eai'th,  the  Word  of  God  has  been,  or  is  being, 
translated  ;  that  in  all  lands  and  climes  the  Christian  home  is 
seen,  and  Christian  men  and  women  from  all  Protestant  coun- 
tries are  striving  earnestly  side  by  side  in  a  common  cause, 
we  are  cheered  by  this  strong  array  of  forces. 


THE    ARRAY    OF    MISSIONARY    FORCES.  29 

Dr.  Mullens,  in  a  report  of  the  London  Society  written  after 
his  return  from  an  extended  tour  among  the  missions,  speaks 
of  the  encouragement  to  be  derived  from  this  view  of  the 
work,  and  welcomes  his  co-workers  of  every  Evangelical  name. 
To  my  own  mind,  while  visiting  missions  of  different  Boards 
and  Societies  in  Japan,  China,  India,  Egypt,  and  Syria,  this 
spectacle  of  a  world-wide  co-operation  seemed  truly  sublime. 
The  ordained  missionaries  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  in  all 
fields,  are  one  hundred  and  thirty-four ;  and  the  entire  mis- 
sionary force,  male  and  female,  is  three  hundred  and  three. 
But  this  is  only  one  of  a  large  number  of  Boards  and  Socie- 
ties. 

The  following  is  an  enumeration  of  the  various  organizations 
engaged  in  what  is  generally  known  as  the  Foreign  Mission- 
ary work : 

Societies  of  the  Church  of  England 18 

"  "  various    Noncomformist    bodies    in 

England 22 

Irish  Societies 5 

Scotch      "        15 

Societies  for  the  Conversion  of  the  Jews 11 

American  Societies 26 

British  American  Societies 5 

German                       "         15 

Swiss                           «         3 

Dutch                          «         10 

Danish                        "         2 

Norwegian                  "          2 

Swedish                      "         ' 4 

Female  Missionary    "         8 

Besides  these,  local  Societies  have  been  formed  in  the  vari- 
ous mission  fields,  as  follows  : 

India 4 

Ceylon 1 

Burmah .' 2 

Carried  forward 153 


30  THE    GREAT   CONQTTEST. 

Brought  forward > 153 

Palestine 2 

Cape  of  Good  Hope 2 

Natal  and  Orange 4 

Jamaica 3 

Polynesia 3 

Whole  nunaber  of  Societies 168 

Besides  these,  there  are  sixty-three  Euroi^ean  and  Ameri- 
can Bible  Societies,  with  a  host  of  auxiliaries  in  foreign  lands, 
all  of  which  are  to  be  counted  in  the  missionary  force  of  the 
world. 

The  number  of  American  and  European  male  missionaries 
is  2,262,  not  to  speak  of  those  who  are  sent  out  by  the  Ha- 
waiian and  other  Societies  from  lands  once  heathen.  The 
number  of  female  missionaries  is  probably  still  larger. 

Nor  are  we  to  consider  this  great  array  of  missionaries 
alone.  Who  are  these  brave  men  and  women  who  have  thus 
given  themselves  to  this  work  ?  Are  they  individual  ad- 
venturers merely?  Are  they  a  chimerical  few,  gathered  out 
of  all  lands,  whose  wild  expectations  find  no  sympathy  in 
the  Church  of  God  1  Ai-e  they  not  rather  the  representatives 
of  the  general  faith  and  zeal  of  all  Christendom  ?  Do  they 
not  stand  as  the  videttes  of  a  great  host  of  Christian  people 
whose  hearts  are  fixed  on  the  conquest  of  the  world  for  Christ  ? 

There  is  something  inspiring  in  this  spectacle  of  tens  of 
thousands  of  Christian  churches,  differing  in  name  and  country 
and  language,  but  all  united  in  this  great  common  enterprise 
of  sending  the  gospel  to  the  nations. 

Nor  is  this  a  mere  spasmodic  movement  which  sprang  up 
yesterday,  and  will  end  to-morrow.  For  a  century  this  tide- 
wave  of  moral  earnestness  has  roiled  onward  and  onward 
with  evei'-increasing  volume.  It  has  been  met  by  scoffs  and 
jeers  at  home,  and  by  the  stubbornness  of  heathen  systems 
abroad.  But  in  spite  of  criticism  .and  apathy,  and  the  evil 
contact  of  unscrupulous  trade  and  the  blight  of  Anglo-Saxon 
vices  ;  notwithstanding  the  discouragements  of  unwholesome 


THE   ARGUMENT   OF    SUCCESS.  3l 

climates  and  sickness  and  death,  this  grand  march  of  faith  has 
gone  forward.  It  Avas  never  so  strong  and  determined  as  at 
th'3  present  moment;  nor  has  it  at  anytime  presented  so  wide 
a  front.  Even  a  philosopher,  looking  upon  this  strange  phe- 
nomenon, must  observe  in  it  a  marvellous  vitality.  It  is  one 
of  the  strongest  proofs  of  the  Divine  power  that  dwells  in 
and  rules  over  the  Christian  Church. 

One  striking  evidence  of  this  vitality,  which  is  not  often 
considered,  is  seen  in  the  financial  credit  of  the  great  Mission 
Boards.  The  nature  of  their  work  requires  that  large  appro- 
priations shall  be  made  many  months  in  advance.  They  are 
made  with  empty  treasuries  and  often  to  the  amount  of  half  a 
million  of  dollars.  And  what  is  most  remarkable  is,  that 
bankers  in  distant  parts  of  the  earth  accept  their  credits. 

Years  ago  the  Presbyterian  Board  availed  itself  of  the 
credit  of  the  New  York  batiks  ;  but  finding  at  length  that  its 
own  paper  was  equally  good,  it  resolved  to  save  the  two  per 
cent,  commission  ;  and  it  has  for  a  long  time,  even  during  our 
Civil  War,  issued  its  own  bills. 

On  what,  then,  does  the  credit  of  these  Boards  rest  ?  They 
have  neither  stocks  nor  bonds  ;  instead  of  balances,  they 
generally  have  only  debts  ;  and  yet,  with  nothing  but  the 
steady  and  unflagging  missionary  spirit  of  the  Church  to  de- 
pend upon,  they  hold  a  place  among  the  strongest  financial 
institutions  of  the  world. 

When  commercial  men  so  fully  trust  the  faith  and  zeal  of 
the  .Church,  she  should  gain  new  confidence  in  herself,  and 
should  realize  that  the  promise  of  her  Divine  Master's  presence 
is  being  steadily  and  constantly  fulfilled. 


yiii. 

THE  ARGUMENT  OF  SUCCESS. 
On"  this  subject  it  will  be  neces-ary  to  speak  comparatively. 
Judging  by  the  high  scriptural  standard  of  duty,  the  achieve- 
ments and  successes  of  the  mission  work  are  small  enough 


32  THE    GREAT    CONQUEST. 

surely  ;  but  relatively  to  the  results  gained  in  Christian  work  at 
home,  they  are  far  greater  than  most  people  are  aware  of.  Of 
course,  the  foreign  work  labors  under  great  disadvantages.  Ail 
beginnings  are  small ;  the  educational  prejudices  of  the  heathen 
are  uniformly  adverse  to  the  truth  ;  there  is  no  basis  of  Chris- 
tian morality  ;  no  prepossession  of  public  sentiment  in  favor  of 
the  Gospel.  With  us  early  training,  pious  example, and  a  veiy 
atmosphere  of  Christian  sentiment,  Christian  morality,  and 
Christian  faith,  prepare  the  mind  from  childhood  to  receive  the 
truth.  Yet  notwithstanding  all  these  differences,  the  fruits  of 
missionary  labor  on  heathen  soil  are  in  fact  far  greater  than  in  our 
own  land — where  religious  institutions  are  so  well  established, 
and  where  the  influences  of  successive  generations  have  been 
garnered  up. 

Taking  into  our  estimate  all  the  missions  of  the  Foreign 
Board  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  for  the  last  three  years,  we 
find  that  the  gains  in  communicants  added  to  the  Churches, 
have  been  a  little  over  sixty-four  per  cent.  At  this  rate,  the 
membership  of  these  Churches  will  be  doubled  every  five  years. 
The  gains  in  the  membership  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  this 
country  for  the  same  period  have  been  eight  per  cent.,  or  one- 
eighth  of  the  foreign  ratio.  At  this  rate  the  membership  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  will  be  doubled  in  thirty-seven  and  a 
half  years. 

If  these  comparisons  be  objected  to  on  the  gi-ound  that  the  esti- 
mate is  in  one  case  made  upon  a  much  smaller  basis  than  in 
the  other,  we  may  proceed  by  a  different  method.  We  find 
that  the  additions  fur  these  three  years  show  an  average  of 
twenty  converts  to  each  of  the  ordained  missionaries  in  the 
employment  of  the  Board,  while  the  average  to  each  ordained 
minister  at  home  for  the  same  time  is  but  eight.  If  it  be  said 
that  a  large  per  cent,  of  the  home  force  is  employed  in  educa- 
tional and  editoi'ial  service,  and  not  in  the  direct  work  of  preach- 
ing the  Gospel,  the  same  is  true  on  the  foi-eign  field,  where  teach- 
ing, translating,  and  the  preparation  of  religious  books,  foim 
an  important  part  of  missionary  labor.  All  this  is  simply  lay- 
ing foundations  for  future  ingatherings. 


THE    ARGUMENT   OF    SUCCESS.  33 

And  if  it  still  be  maintainefl  that  allowance  should  be  made 
for  thoso.  of  the  honie  ministry,  who  from  ill-hoalth  or  other 
causes  are  wholly  out  of  employ,  an  allowance  quite  proportion- 
ate should  be  made  for  the'nimiber  of  missionaries,  who  for  rest 
and  recovery  from  climatic  influences,  are  absent  fi'om  their 
fields. 

Similar  estimates  might  be  extended  over  longer  periods, 
and  be  applied  to  the  Missions  of  other  Boards. 

"We  copy  the  following  facts  from  a  "Ten  Years' Review  of 
the  Avork  of  the  American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,"  given 
by  Secretary  Clark  at  the  Annual  Meeting,  held  at  Chicago,  in 
October,  1875  : 

"During  the  last  ten  years  in  the  fields  now  occupied  by  the 
Board,  the  number  of  ordained  native  pastors  has  gone  up  from 
thirty-eight  to  one  hundred  and  ten,  and  is  rapidly  increasing. 
The  native  pastors  take  possession,  as  it  were,  and  cultivate  the 
fields  already  won;  leaving  the  missionaries,  with  other  native 
agents,  free  to  push  the  work  of  evangelization  into  the  regions 
beyond. 

"  In  great  measure  by  the  means  of  native  agency,  the  ac- 
tual field  of  operations  has  been  enlarged,  during  the  ten  years, 
full  forty  per  cent.,  with  but  little  increase  of  expenditure. 

'•The  entire  number  of  additions  to  the  mission  Churches 
during  the  decade  is.  12,820 — or  over  one  hundred  to  each  or- 
dained missionary  in  active  service,  including  those  engaj^ed  in 
teaching  and  in  literary  labors These  conver- 
sions must  be  estimated  by  the  fact  that  they  represent  the  be- 
ginnings of  Christian  society  amid  the  moral  wastes  of  heathen- 
ism and  corrupt  forms  uf  Christianity;  and  not  the  fruits  of  es- 
tablished and  honored  institutions.  These  followers  of  Christ 
have  professed  their  faith  in  many  instances,  with  the  loss  of 
houses  and  lands,  of  family,  friends,  and  social  standing,  and 

sometimes  at  the  peril  of  their  lives The  gain 

in  church  membership  in  the  different  fields  is  as  follows  : 

In  the  Zulu  Mission— about 100  per  cent 

WsBtem  Turkey  •. 110        " 

Central  Turkey 100         ' 


34  THE   GKEAT   CONQUEST. 

Eastern  Turkey 340  per  cent. 

Mahratta  Mission 25        " 

Madura  Mission  53        " 

Ceylon  Mission 46        " 

In  the  Foocliow  Mission,  from  3  churches  and 45  members,  to  S  churches 

and  144  members,  or 320        " 

In  the  North  China  Mission,  from  a  work  just  beginning  in  1865,  to  7 
churches  and  171  members. 
Micronesia— from  4  churches  and  263  members  to  20  churches 

and  over  1,200  members 470        " 

In  Japan,  where  the  worlc  began  in  1870,  there  are  now  3  churches 

and  57  members. 
In  Western  Mexico,  where  the  work  began  in  1872,  there  is  now  1 

church  and  91  members. 
Among  the  Dakotas,  from  4  churches  and  527  members,  to  9  churches 
(including  two  transferred  to  the  Presbyterian  Board)  and 
775  members. 

"The  aggregate  results  may  be  summed  up  thus  :  Omitting 
the  Slission  to  the  Sandwich  Islands  graduated  in  1870,  and  the 
Missions  transferred  to  another  Board,  the  churches  in  the  Mis- 
sion fields  now  occupied  by  the  Board,  have  increased  from  136, 
with  a  membership  of  5,557,  to  223,  with  a  membership  of 
11,516,  an  advance  of  over  100  per  cent." 

It  will  be  seen  by  the  above,  that  the  Mission  in  Eastern  Tur- 
key had  in  ten  years  made  a  gain  of  three  hundred  and  forty  per 
cent.;  that  of  Foochow,  China,  three  hundred  and  twenty  per 
cent.,  and  that  of  Micronesia  four  hundred  and  seventy  per  cent. 

The  Canton  Mission  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  has  in  ten  years 
increased  from  twenty  members  to  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight, 
or  six  hundred  and  ninety  per  cent.  And  the  total  of  the  Presby- 
terian Missions  in  China  has  in  the  same  time  advanced  from 
two  hundred  and  fifty  to  eleven  hundred  and  forty-three,  or 
four  hundred  and  fifty-three  per  cent.  The  Missions  of  the  same 
Board  among  the  American  Indians,  not  including  those  receiv- 
ed from  the  American  Board,  have  in  the  same  period  advanced 
from  sixty-seven  members  to  eleven  hundred  and  eighty-nine, 
or  seventeen  hundred  and  seventy-four  per  cent. 

But  far  more  remarkable  than  any  of  the  above  examples,  is  the 
growth  of  the  Presbyterian  Mission  in  Mexico,  where  in  three 
years  the  converts  of  the  Mission  Churches  have  increased  from 
one  hundred  and  seventy,  to  over  seventeen  hundred.  This,  for 


OTHER   TUA2!i   NUMERICAL   RESULTS.  35 

ten  years,  is  not  merely  three  hundred  per  cent.,  but  more 
than  thirty-fold. 

These  gains  are,  of  course,  exceptionally  large.  In  many  fields 
the  progress  is  slow  at  first;  and  yet  to  the  above  examples 
many  more  miglit  be  added  from  the  Missions  in  Fcjee,  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  Sierra  Leone,  Burmah,  Southern  India,  and 
Madagascar, 

IX. 

OTHER  THAN  NUMERICAL   RESULTS. 

It  would  be  wide  of  the  truth  to  cimfine  our  estimate  of  the 
"work  accomplished  to  the  number  of  those  who  give  real  evidence 
of  conversion.  There  are  myriads  of  others  who  are  intellectually 
convinced,  many  of  whom  are  likely  to  be  brought  to  Christ. 
In  many  countries,  especially  in  India,  there  are  vast  multi- 
tudes who  would  embrace  the  truth  but  for  caste  and  the  tyran- 
ny of  n2)posing  sentiment.  The  educational  work,  also,  is  of  in- 
calculable value  as  laying  the  foundation  for  future  accessions  to 
the  Redeemer's  Kingdom.  The  missionary  effort  of  the  next 
generation  will  find  a  far  greater  degree  of  intelligence  in  the 
masses  than  now  exists.  The  thousands  of  children  who  are 
learning  Bible  lessons  and  catechisms  in  the  schools  of  Syria  and 
Turkey,  will  in  the  years  to  come,  listen  understand ingly  to  the 
missionary  preacher. 

Within  twenty-five  years,  vast  multitudes  in  India  and  Japan 
will  be  able  to  receive  the  Gospel  in  the  English  tongue,  which, 
next  to  the  Gospel,  bids  fair  to  become  the  mightiest  solvent  of 
heathen  faiths  and  Oriental  civilizations. 

I  was  present  in  187-4  at  an  Annual  Meeting  of  Presbyterian 
Missionaries  in  Saharanpur,  India,  when  the  subject  of  Anglo-ver- 
nacular schools  was  under  discussion. 

An  expression  of  opinion  was  called  for  by  vote,  on  the  ques- 
tion, "  Whether  the  thousands  of  bright  and  intelligent  youth 
in  these  schools  are  forever  spoiled  for  the  Hindu  or  the  Moham- 
medan faitii  by  this  English  education  ?"  Whereupon  the  whole 


6b  THE    GREAT    CONQUEST. 

assembly  at  once  rose  to  their  feet.  Whether  these  intelligent 
ih'iLisands  shall  become  Chiislians,  however,  will  depend  on  the 
(frii*ts  and  prayers  of  the  Church. 

The  Mission  cause  has  gained  immensely  in  the  work  of  the 
press.  In  the  course  of  sixty  or  seventy  years,  the  Word  of 
God  has  been  translated  into  over  two  hundred  languages.  In 
many  instances  as  elsewhere  stated,  the  languages  and  dialects 
themselves  have  been  constructed,  and  in  some  cases  even  alpha- 
bets have  been  formed.  Scures  of  printing  presses  have  been 
established,  and  hospitals  and  orphanages  opened.  The  heathen 
have  been  taught  a  higher  grade  of  humanity,  and  the  habita- 
tions of  cruelty  have  been  overthrown.  And  thus  narrow 
prejudices  have  been  overcome,  and  a  general  confidence  in  the 
higher  compassion  of  the  Gospel  has  been  inspired  in  the  be- 
nighted minds  of  millions.  Heathen  governments  have  become 
more  tolerant  toward  Christianity;  so  that  it  may  now  fairly 
be  said  that  the  great  field  of  the  world  is  wide  open  to  the 
trath. 

The  preparation  of  a  Christian  literature  in  many  tongues, 
and  adapted  to  the  wants  of  particular  races,  is  also  a  great 
preliminary  work.  In  most  countries,  also,  newspapers  have 
been  established — not  always  in  the  interest  of  religion  surely, 
but  in  every  case  fatal  to  the  old  errors  and  superstitions,  and 
so  far  opening  the  way  for  the  truth.  Best  of  all,  that  Word 
of  God  which  shall  not  return  unto  Him  void,  has  been  scat- 
tered like  the  leaves  of  Autumn  over  all  continents  and  the 
islands  of  the  sea. 

The  cause  of  Missions  has  gained  much  in  improved  methods 
of  working,  in  a  better  knowledge  of  races  and  climates,  in  the 
wiser  adaptation  of  means  to  ends,  and  in  the  improved  senti- 
ment and  more  wholesome  influence  of.  foreign  residents  at  the 
various  stations. 

The  hostility  of  this  class  to  missionaries  is  still  continued  to 
some  extent;  but  it  is  greatly  softened;  and  there  are  now  thou- 
sands  of  Christian    men    in  India  and  China,   in  the   African 


OTHER   THAN    NUMERICAL    RESULTS.  37 

colonies,  and  in  the  islands  of  the  Pacific,  who  render  substan- 
tial aid  to  the  cause.  Foreign  residents  become  more  favorable 
to  Missions  accordingly  as  their  own  social  relations  are  cor- 
rected and  improved. 

There  has  been  a  great  gain  also  in  public  sentiment  at 
home.  The  whole  Church  has  been  elevated  by  her  missionary 
efforts.  If  there  is  still  existing  a  spirit  of  criticism  and  op- 
position, there  was  far  more  in  the  early  history  of  the  cause. 

The  first  attempt  to  send  the  Gospel  to  Tahite  was  openly 
opposed  by  multitudes,  even  in  the  Church.  And  when,  after 
an  unsuccessful  beginning,  it  was  proposed  to  reinforce  the 
first  band  of  missionaries,  the  opposition  even  among  Christians 
was  well-nigh  overpowering.  It  was  only  the  strong  faith  of 
the  few  that  prevailed. 

In  1792,  the  British  Parliament,  in  a  charter  to  the  East  In- 
dia Company,  guaranteed  that  neither  education  nor  religion 
should  be  allowed  in  India.  Carey  and  Marshman  were  obliged 
therefore  to  lay  the  foundations  of  their  work  at  Serampore, 
because  it  was  beyond  the  dominion  of  the  British  flag. 

Public  sentiment  in  Enorland  as  well  as  in  India  was  general- 
ly  opposed  to  Missions.  Carey  had  been  at  the  outset  j^ublicly 
rebuked  for  presumption  by  the  Moderator  of  a  religious 
meeting  at  which  he  had  ventured  to  suggest  the  duty  of 
preaching   the  Gospel  to  the  heathen. 

And  after  the  Mission  at  Serampore  had  been  established, 
the  Rev.  Sidney  Smith,  with  a  pen  of  satire  seldom  equalled, 
actually  undertook  to  write  down  the  whole  missionary  enter- 
prise in  India.  He  characterized  Carey  and  Marshman  as  "  Con- 
secrated cobblers,  whose  blundeiing  zeal  would  endanger  the 
lives  of  British  residents,  and  rob  England^of  the  noble  prize  of 
her  India  possessions." 

In  1812,  when  the  Twenty  Years'  Cliarter  of  the  East  India 
Company  had  expired,  and  an  attempt  was  made  to  secure  a 
renewed  prohibition  of  religion  and  education,  it  was  not  un- 
til nine  hundred  petitions,  largely  signed  by  Christian  people. 


38  THE   GEEAT   CONQUEST. 

had  been  urged  upon  Parliament  by  Wilberforce  and  his  friends, 
that  the  measure  was  defeated,  and  a  charter  favorable  to,  or  at 
least  tolerant  towards,  Missions  was  secured. 

Although  the  Church  is  still  far  from  being  enlisted  with  her 
full  power,  although  there  are  thousands  yet  who  are  indifferent, 
and  many  are  sceptical  on  the  subject,  there  is  a  great  change. 
A  clerical  satirist  who  should  now  oppose  the  work  of  Mis- 
sions, would  be  suspected  as  a  secret  foe  of  evangelical  religion. 
No  important  branch  of  the  Christian  Church — so  fully  are  all 
convinced  of  its  reflex  benefits — can  now  affijrd  to  be  without  a 
Missionary  Board,  and  a  participation  in  the  common  cause. 


THE  CAUSE  OF  MISSIONS  OWNED  OF  GOD  IN  THE 
OUTPOURING  OF  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT. 

When  the  apostle  Peter  and  "  They  of  the  Circumcision  " 
at  Cesarea,  saw  "  that  on  the  Gentiles  also  was  poured  out  the 
gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost,"  they  at  once  accepted  the  great  truth 
that  the  grace  of  God  is  designed  for  all  men.  The  same  kind 
of  evidence  should  convince  the  doubting  in  oxxr  day  also.  The 
middle  wall  of  partition  once  broken  down  should  not  be  put  up 
again — least  of  all  should  it  be  reared  under  the  full  light  of 
the  present  age.  If  scientists  of  a  certain  school  teach  us  that 
religions  are  matters  of  climate  and  physical  conditions,  that 
mountainous  countries  with  cool  temperatures  and  a  strong 
regimen  will  develop  one  kind  of  faith,  while  hot  plains  or 
tropical  marshes  and  a  rice  diet  will  insure  another,  we  need 
only  to  show  that  the  story  of  the  Cross  has  moved  all  races  of 
men,  from  the  fur-clad  Greenlander  to  the  Mahratta  of  India; 
and  that  tlie  Spirit  of  God  has  begotten  precisely  the  same 
fruits  of  "  love,  joy,  peace,  long-suffering,  gentleness,  goodness, 
and  faith,"  amid  all  diffei-ences  of  race  or  habits  of  life.  Again 
and  again  various  mission  fields  have  been  visited  with  precious 
revivals  ;  and  the  effect  of  the  truth  upon  the  minds  and  hearts 


THE   CAUSE   OF   MISSIONS    OWNED    OF    THE    SPIRIT.  '3d 

of  people  widely  different  from  each  other,  has  besn  so  perfect- 
ly identical,  and  yet  so  unlike  anything  that  had  ever  been  ex- 
perienced by  these  races  before,  that  none  could  doubt  the 
reality  of  the  Holy  Spiiit's  work. 

Perhaps  in  no  place  since  the  day  of  Pentecost  has  there 
been  witnessed  a  more  wonderful  outpouiing  of  the  Holy 
Si)irit  than  in  the  Sandwich  Islands.  As  early  as  18"2o,  a  very 
remarkable  state  of  things  existed  on  the  island  of  Maui.  At 
Lahaina,  according  to  Dr.  Rufus  Anderson's  "  History  of  the 
Hawaiian  Islands,"  the  voice  of  prayer  might  be  heard  in  the 
houses  at  nearly  all  hours.  The  missionaries  were  thronged 
with  inquirers  till  their  strength  was  exhausted;  and  sometimes 
calls  were  made  even  at  midnight.  Three  different  female 
prayer-meetings  were  appointed  in  order  to  accommodate  the 
number  that  desired  to  attend.  But  in  1836  a  more  general 
work  began,  and  in  1838  it  had  extended  over  Hawaiia, 
Oahu,  and  Kauai. 

Whenever  and  wherever  the  missionary  appointed  a  meeting, 
he  was  sure  of  a  listening  audience. 

Many  of  the  chapels,  though  large,  failed  to  accommodate 
the  people,  and  shelters  or  canopies  were  built  for  open-air  ser- 
vices, which  were  sometimes  attended  by  four  thousand  people. 
Individual  missionaries  were  permitted  to  baptize  hundreds 
and,  in  one  or  two  instances,  thousands  of  hopeful  converts. 

Tlie  same  author  states  (p.  88)  that  between  the  years  1837 
and  1843,  the  Sandwich  Islands  Churches  increased  in  mem- 
bership from  1,"259  to  23,801.  TJiis  ivas  an  increase  of  more 
than  nineteen-fold  in  six  years,  or  an  average,  addition  of  nearly  a 
thousand  every  three  months. 

Equally  striking  have  been  some  of  the  revivals  in  the  Nes- 
torian  or  Persian  IMission,  though  of  far  less  extent.  In  the 
days  of  the  devoted  Fideha  Fisk,  the  Holy  Spu-it  descended 
again  and  again  upon  the  boarding-school  at  Oroomiah,  till 
the  whole  place  became  an  oratory.  Spontaneous  prayer 
was  heard  on  every  hand,  mingled  with  sobs,  and  the  anxious 
inquiries  of  convicted  sinners.     The  conversion  of   the  wild 


40  THE    GREAT   CONQUEST. 

Koord,  Guergis,  who  came  from  his  mouBtain  home  armed  in 
his  true  bandit  style,  and  whose  fierceness  was  quelled  by  the 
calm,  solemn  warnings  of  a  Christian  woman,  and  the  touching 
prayers  of  his  own  child,  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  proofs 
of  Divine  power  to  be  found  in  the^Avhole  range  of  Christian 
biogi-aphy.  It  is  of  the  greater  vakie,  as  it  was  followed  by 
a  life  of  genuine  and  devoted  toil  for  the  Master's  cause. 

The  Mission  work  in  Tahite,  at  the  beginning  of  the  century, 
though  for  a  long  time  (from  1 796  to  1 810)  unfruitful,  pre- 
sented at  length  a  wonderful  exhibition  of  Divine  power.  The 
king  and  one  of  his  principal  chiefs,  together  with  a  priest  of 
the  highest  rank,  were  numbered  among  the  many  conyerts. 
Five  years  later,  the  worship  of  idols  w^as  wholly  abohshed. 

The  history  of  Missions  in  Sierra  Leone  has  more  than  once 
given  remarkable  attestation  of  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
upon  the  heathen  mind  and  heart. 

In  the  early  days  of  England's  efforts  to  quell  the  slave 
trade,  there  was  a  rendezvous  estabhshed  at  Regent's  Town, 
in  which  the  poor  captives  taken  from  the  slave  ships  were 
placed.  These  wretched  beings,  gathered  from  many  different 
tribes,  and  speaking  different  tongues,  and  having  nothing  in 
common  but  their  misfortunes,  presented  a  fearful  spectacle  of 
degradation  in  every  respect.  There  was  no  such  thing  as 
social  order  among  them  ;  even  the  marriage  relation  scarcely 
existed.  No  worse  community  could  be  found  on  the  earth. 
No  field  on  the  globe  could  be  considered  more  needy  or  more 
hopeless. 

A  German  layman  of  little  learning,  but  of  great  faith  and  zeal, 
was  sent  out  to  these  people,  about  a  thousand  in  number,  by  the 
Church  IMissionary  Society.  For  nearly  a  year  he  was  greatly 
discouraged,  but  at  length  the  Spirit  of  God  came  upon  the 
people  in  a  wonderful  degree.  Inquirers  were  multiplied  on 
every  hand.  The  people  were  found  prajdng  in  their  wretched 
houses  and  in  the  woods,  and  the  music  of  hymns  was  heard 
on  moonlight  evenings  on  the  mountain-sides,  where  little 
companies  had   gathered  for  vv'orship.     The  change  in  the 


THE   CAUSE   OF   MISSIONS   OWNED   OF   THE    SPIRIT.  41 

character  of  this  heterogeneous  community  was  remarkable. 
Tliey  learned  trades  or  became  farmers,  and  built  them 
homes.  Stone-houses  were  built,  and  a  bridge  with  several 
arches  ;  also  school-houses,  and  a  stone  chui-ch  large  enough 
to  accommodate  two  thousand  j)eople.  Within  less  than 
seven  years  this  became  an  orderly  settlement.  The  heathen 
orgies  had  ceased  :  most  of  the  adults  were  married  :  the  peo- 
ple in  good  numbers  were  church  attendants,  and  there  were 
a  thousand  children  in  the  schools.* 

Great  revivals  have  occuiTed  in  the  same  field  in  connection 
with  the  Wesleyan  Missions. 

But  our  aim  is  merely  to  show  the  variety  of  races  which 
have  yielded  the  same  fruits  of  the  Holy  Spirit's  work.  The 
North  American  Indian  is  regarded  by  some  as  of  a  stolid  and 
unimpressible  type  of  mankind,  and  yet  how  often  have  pre- 
cious scenes  of  divine  awakening  appeared  in  the  rude  wigwams 
and  around  the  camp-fires  of  these  sons  of  the  forest !  Forty 
years  ago  blessed  results  accompanied  the  preaching  of  the 
"Word  by  such  men  as  Byington  and  Gleason  among  the  Choc- 
taws,  and  in  the  year  18(50,  before  the  war  had  brought  its 
curse,  the  Cherokees  were  regarded  as  a  Christian  people. 

As  late  as  1867,  the  Spirit  was  poured  out  in  a  remarkable 
degree  upon  the  Dakotas.  Encampments  upon  the  prairie 
became  religious  assemblies.  Even  Indian  women  sometimes 
walked  several  miles  to  attend  religious  services;  inquiry-meet- 
ings were  full,"and  as  the  result,  over  fifty  persons  were  admit- 
ted to  the  Church,  f 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  globe,  the  mountain  villages  of  the 
Karens  have  presented  similar  scenes.  W  hile  the  Baptist  mission- 
aries had  thought  to  devote  themselves  to  the  Buddhistic  Bur- 
mese, the  lamented  Boardman  had  observed  the  peculiar  char- 
acter of  a  male  servant  in  his  employment.  This  man  was  a 
Karen ;  and  the  missionary  ascertain^ed  that  he  and  his  people, 


*  See  "  Foreign  Missions,"  by  Rev.  Dr.  Rufus  Anderson, 
t  Miasionarj'  Herald,  1867. 


42  THE   GREAT   CONQUEST. 

numbering  many  thousands,  belonged  to  aboriginal  tribes 
which  had  never  accepted  the  doctrines  of  Buddha ;  that  their 
religious  beliefs  presented  few  obstacles  to  the  reception  of 
the  Gospel;  and  that  the  Spuit  of  God  seemed  to  inchne  them 
to  earnest  inquiry.  Although  Mr.  Boardman  was  soon  called 
to  his  rest,  the  attention  of  other  missionaries  was  largely  di- 
rected to  the  Karens.  Wonderful  results  followed.  The  chiefs 
of  mountain  tribes  sent  requests  for  preachers  and  teachers  ; 
and  great  multitudes  were  filled  with  the  spirit  of  inquhy. 
One  missionary  alone  in  about  six  years  "planted  forty 
churches,  opened  forty-two  chapels,  and  thu'ty-two  school- 
houses,  and  was  the  means  mainly  of  raising  between  eight 
and  nine  thousand  Karens  to  the  level  of  Christian  worship- 
pers." One  native  preacher,  Sao  Quala,  baptized  in  three 
years  over  two  thousand  converts. 

The  Sphit  of  C4od  has  not  failed  to  show  divine  approval  of  the 
work  in  China ;  though  no  such  wide-spread  revivals  have  ap- 
peared as  have  been  witnessed  in  some  other  lands.  The  suc- 
cesses gained  in  the  villages  back  of  Am<>y  by  the  English 
Presbyterians  and  the  American  Reformed  missionaries,  are 
among  the  most  cheering ;  and  no  man  could  have  witnessed  the 
labors  of  Eev.  Hunter  Corbett,  of  the  Presbyterian  Mission,  in 
the  Shantung  Province,  two  years  since,  without  feeling  assur- 
ed that  God  was  in  that  place.  Some  scores  who  had  been 
previously  examined,  were  on  three  successive  Sabbaths 
baptized  and  received  to  the  communion. 

There  was  no  church  in  the  little  village  of  Chimeh  at  the 
time;  but  the  candidates  for  baptism  kneeled  to  receive  the 
saci'ed  rite  on  dried  grass,  which  had  been  spread  beneath  the 
trees;  after  which  they  also  presented  their  children  in  covenant 
unto  God. 

During  a  severe  persecution  which  followed  these  scenes, 
their  entire  number  remained  steadfast,  with  one  exception, 
though  with  the  spoihng  of  then'  goods  ;  and  a  year  later  they 
were  organized  into  three  churches,  with  an  aggregate  of  one 
hundred  and  thii-ty  members. 


DO   CONVERTED  HEATHEN    HELP    THEMSELVES  i  4d 

Tlae  revival  scenes  which  followed  the  death  of  the  persecut- 
ing queen  of  Madagascar  in  1 8G1,  might  fill  a  volume ;  but  we 
can  give  here  but  a  few  references  to  the  wonderful  changes 
there  witnessed.  The  "  Story  of  Madagascar,"  by  Rev.  J.  W. 
Mears,  D.D.,  of  Hamilton  College,  and  the  Records  of  the 
London  Missionaries,  would  well  repay  the  researches  of  all 
who  love  the  Redeemer's  kingdom.  Even  during  the  thirty 
years'  persecution  under  Queen  Ravonarola,  the  martyr  Church 
was  kept  alive,  and  was  extended;  but  when  the  glorious 
dawn  of  religious  freedom  broke  forth,  the  nation  seemed  to 
rise  up  as  from  a  reign  of  darkness  and  death.  Heathenism 
had  destroyed  itself  by  its  own  cruelties.  The  new  sovereign 
gave  full  patronage  to  the  Church.  Memorial  chapels  were 
everywhere  built  on  the  very  localities  that  had  witnessed 
martyr  deaths  ;  multitudes  professed  their  faith,  and  the  Church 
grew  ajDace.  So  far  as  the  Gospel  has  penetrated,  Madagascar 
may  now  be  called  a  Christian  country. 

The  enumeration  of  revival  scenes  among  all  races  might  be 
greatly  extended  ;  but  enough  has  been  shown  to  indicate 
that  the  plan  of  salvation  and  the  promiseil  influence  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  were  designed  for  all  mankind.  The  one  blessed 
Gospel  has  verily  become  "  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation  to 
every  one  that  beheveth,  to  the  Jew  first  and  also  to  the 
Gentile." 


XL 

DO  CONVERTED  HEATHEN  HELP  THEMSELVES? 

It  is  always  a  pleasure  to  assist  those  Avho  honestly  strive 
to  help  themselves.  And  the  question  very  naturally  arises, 
whether  a  fair  degree  of  self-reliance  is  inculcated  among  the 
mission  churches.  It  is  plain  that  only  the  beginnings  of  the 
great  work  of  evangelization  in  any  land  can  be  made  by 
missionaries.  Unless  the  religious  life  of  a  newly-converted 
people  shall  develop  in  some  degree  a  spirit  of  self-reliance 


4:4  THE   GREAT   CONQUEST. 

and  self-propagation,  there  can  be  no  hope  of  general  and 
permanent  conquest. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  in  some  instances  missionaries 
have  failed  in  this  respect.  They  judged  of  the  deep  poverty 
of  the  people  by  the  standai'ds  of  their  own  country.  They 
supposed  it  impossible  for  those  who  lacked  almost  every 
comfort  of  life  to  do  anything  for  the  sujDport  of  the  gospel. 
They  saw  around  them  a  degree  of  want,  compared  with 
which  that  of  the  poorest  hamlet  of  this  land  is  wealth  itself; 
and  they  felt  that  it  was  cruel  to  ask  the  poor  native  Chris- 
tians to  give  anything.  They  failed  to  remember  that  these 
same  people  had  paid  far  more  for  their  heathen  rites ;  and 
that  the  very  life  and  perpetuity  of  the  Church  among  them 
required  that  they  should  do  something  to  help  not  only 
themselves,  but  others. 

There  have  been  others,  however,  who  from  the  first  have 
taught  the  necessity  of  liberal  gifts  for  the  support  of  the 
gospel ;  and  it  is  quite  witliin  the  truth  to  say  that  the  very 
highest  instances  of  a  truly  Apostolic  liberality  in  our  day  are 
found  in  mission  churches. 

Of  late  these  examples  are  acting  as  leaven  among  other 
native  churches.  It  is  one  of  the  advantages  of  mission- 
ary conferences  and  of  abundant  missionary  publications  that 
the  best  methods  and  the  best  successes  are  made  the  com- 
mon property  of  all.  Since  the  Allahabad  Conference,  in 
1871,  all  the  Missions  in  India  are  giving  increased  attention 
to  the  development  of  self-help  among  the  native  churches,- 
and  the. good  examples  of  one  field  have  affected  all  other 
fields. 

When  it  was  made  known  what  "John  Concordance"  had 
accomplished  in  Eastern  Turkey,  with  a  people  who  worked 
tenant  lands  for  one-half  the  crop,  and  who  gave  ten  per  cent, 
of  that  as  a  Government  tax,  and  who  from  the  forty  per 
cent,  which  remained  had  given  one-tenth  for  their  pastor's 
support  and  another  tenth  to  build  a  chapel,  the  influence  of 
such  an  example  was  felt  in  all  lands — except  perhaps  in  our 


DO   CONVERTED  HEATHEN    HELP   THEMSELVES?  45 

own.  The  native  Christians  in  Ceylon  heard  of  it,  and  many 
members  of  the  churches  at  Manepy,  Tillapally,  and  else- 
where began  to  give  one-tenth.  At  a  Communion  season, 
three  hundred  converts  renewed  their  covenants  in  a  higher 
consecration.  Some  of  the  churches  supported  their  pastors 
entirely,  and  as  a  general  rule  the  care  of  church  edifices  and 
of  the  church  poor,  was  assumed  by  the  natives. 

The  Nestorians  of  the  Persian  Mission  have  long  been 
noted  for  their  self-denying  liberality ;  and  their  example  also 
has  influenced  others. 

At  a  Monthly  Concert,  held  by  a  native  church  of  the  Lon- 
don Mission,  in  Travancore,  India,  a  paper  was  read,  showing 
what  the  Nestoriai;)s  were  doing.  A  profound  impression  was 
pi'oduced,  and  the  reader  himself  w^as  deeply  moved.  After 
urging  iipon  the  people  a  more  thorough  consecration  of 
themselves  and  their  possessions,  he  at  once  laid  dowm  his 
own  offerin<]r  and  called  on  all  who  were  willins:  to  consecrate 
their  substance  to  the  Lord  to  come  forward.  Many  came  at 
once,  but  the  majority  left  the  meeting  for  their  homes,  from 
■which  they  soon  returned,  bringing  ornaments,  turbans,  cloth, 
umbrellas,  brass  cups,  cocoanuts,  lamps,  and,  in  one  instance, 
a  cotv ;  the  whole  collection  amounting  to  |;58.50.  This  in- 
cident had  a  great  effect  upon  other  congregations  in  the 
vicinity. 

Altogether,  the  Travancore  churches  of  the  London  Society 
gave,  in  18G9,  $6,000  ;  and  during  that  same  year  that  Society 
received  from  all  its  foreign  fields  S100,000,  a  considerable 
proportion  of  which  came  from  native  Christians. 

Prominent  in  the  development  of  self-help  among  native 
churches  are  the  Missions  of  the  English  Baptists.  In  some 
of  the  towns  near  Calcutta,  the  missionaries  began  by  asking 
the  churches  for  one-seventh  of  the  native  pastors'  salaries. 
The  next  year  ihcy  called  for  two-sevenths,  and  so  on,  until 
now  all,  or  nearly  all,  the  pastors  are  wholly  supported  by 
their  peoi)le.  The  eight  Baptist  Mission  churches  in  and 
around  Delhi  also  were  reported  as  supporting  their  ow^n 


46  THE   GKEAT   CONQUEST. 

pastors  in  1874.  Of  the  one  hundred  and  seven  native 
churches  of  the  same  Society  in  Jamaica,  over  ninety  are 
self-supporting.  Those  in  Trinidad  support  their  pastors  and 
build  their  churches.  Of  course,  in  all  these  cases  there  is 
yet  an  aggressive  evangelistic  work  to  be  done  in  the  regions 
beyond  by  Mission  funds. 

In  the  South  Sea  Missions  of  the  Wesleyans,  the  American 
Board  Missions  among  the  Zulus,  the  English  Baptist  Missions 
in  India,  the  Presbyterian  Chinese  Missions  in  Pingtu  and 
Chimeh,  the  American  Baptist  Missions  among  the  Karens, 
and  still  more  notably  in  the  American  Board  Missions  in 
Western  and  Central  Turkey,  the  natives  have  exhibited 
great  zeal  and  liberality  in  the  erection  of  their /Own  chapels. 
The  churches  and  citizens  of  Aintab  have  raised  $7,000  for  a 
college. 

hi  many  fields  also  there  has  been  exhibited  a  disposition 
to  carry  the  gospel  to  others  "without  compensation. 

In  1873,  several  members  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church, 
in  Canton,  districted  a  certain  portion  of  the  city,  and  went 
from  house  to  house  carrying  the  story  of  the  Cross.  The 
Methodist  missionaries  at  Hankow  speak  with  joy  of  a 
movement  of  their  young  men  for  holding  evening  services, 
in  which  they  meet  in  various  localities  those  who  come  to 
hear  the  Gospel. 

At  Kuching,  near  Foochow,  according  to  the  last  Report  of 
the  Church  Missionary  Society,  ten  young  men  had  been 
chosen  by  the  people  to  make  tours  as  unpaid  preachers  in 
the  district  round  about.  In  one  village  twenty-five  converts 
had  been  gained.  A  little  church  in  the  same  vicinity  had 
built  a  chapel  and  a  pastor's  house  without  assistance  ; 
and  at  a  Conference  of  the  native  catechists  it  had  been 
resolved  that  they  would  support  four  of  their  own  number 
at  $75  eacih  per  annum. 

Among  the  most  vigorous  and  helpful  native  churches  are 
those  of  the  United  Presbyterian  Mission  in  Egypt.  Prob- 
ably there  is  no  country  in  the  world  where  the  oppressions 


DO   CONVEKTED  nEATIIEN    HELP   THEMSELVES  ?  47 

of  taxation  are  greater  than  in  Egypt;  and  yet  the  report  of 
that  Mission  for  1874  shows  an  average  contribution  from 
each  member  of  S5.87.  Although  eight  of  their  ten  cluirches 
have  been  formed  within  tlie  last  ten  years,  and  they  number 
in  all  but  five  hundred  and  nine  members,  thqy  contributed 
$2,952  for  religious  purposes  last  year  and  $1,032  for  tuition. 

Such  examples  might  be  multiplied  to  almost  any  extent. 
The  natives  at  Umvoti  in  Zululand  built  a  large  church  edifice, 
costing  $2,000,  and  $6.00  was  about  their  usual  Monthly 
Concert  collection.  In  1870  the  Christians  of  the  Friendly 
Islands  gave  $17,500  to  send  the  gospel  to  other  tribes,  while 
in  the  Island  of  Hawaii  the  members  of  nine  churches  gave 
$4.10  each  for  the  Missions  in  the  Marquesas  Islands. 

The  five  thousand  Christians  in  Samoa  gave,  among  other 
things,  in  a  single  year,  $1,500  to  the  British  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society. 

The  recent  reports  of  the  American  Board,  presented  at 
Chicago,  October,  1875,  show  that  great  attention  hi.s  of  late 
been  given  to  the  subject  of  self-hel]?  in  its  Missions.  We 
quote  the  following  : 

"  Besides  their  home  expenses,  amounting  to  over  $200,000 
in  gold,  the  Hawaiian  churches  have  contributed  to  Foreign 
]Missions  over  $50,000  during  the  ten  years  past,  besides 
sending  out,  from  first  to  last,  over  forty  of  their  sons  and 
daughters  to  Micronesia.  The  native  churches  in  IMicronesia 
have  received  no  pecuniary  aid  from  the  Board  in  the  sup- 
port of  their  institutions,  and  they  are  already  raising  up 
missionaries  to  go  out  to  islands  still  farther  to  the  westward, 
till  Mr.  Sturgis  writes  of  the  'great-grandchild'  of  the 
American  Board. 

"  The  Mission  churches  in  Asia,  gathered  in  large  measure 
among  the  poorer  and  humbler  classes,  sometimes  suffering 
under  the  most  intolerable  despotism,  Avell-nigh  hopeless  in 
their  ignorance  and  misery,  were  slow  to  realize  their  per- 
sonal ability  and  resi)onsibility  for  the  work  of  Christ.  Ten 
years  since,  their  contributions  to  Christian  objects  amounted 


4:8  THE   GEEAT   CONQUEST. 

to  hardly  more  than  $10,000 ;  the  past  year  they  cannot 
have  been  less  than  $45,000.  In  the  Central  Turkey  Mission 
alone  they  amounted  to  over  $10,000, 

"  In  the  Madura  Mission,  where  ten  years  since  almost 
nothing  was  done  by  the  people,  the  fourteen  pastors  are 
now  supported  from  a  common  sustentation  fund,  to  which 
all  the  churches  contribute.  In  the  Mahratta  Mission  the 
native  Christians  are  believed  to  be  fully  up  to  the  standard 
of  New  England  Congregationalists." 


XII. 

INSTANCES    OF    THE    SPONTANEOUS    EXTENSION 
OF  THE  TRUTH. 

When  the  persecutions  of  the  native  cliurches  of  Madagas- 
car began  thirty  years  ago,  and  Christians  were  driven  into 
banishment,  or  sold  into  slavery  in  remote  parts  of  the  island, 
they  carried  the  truth  with  them,  and  as  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment times,  believers  were  multipHed  by  this  very  dispersion. 

Dr.  Mullens,  in  his  report  of  a  visit  to  Madagascar  in  1873, 
mentions  as  a  special  feature  of  the  wonderful  work  in  that  coun- 
try, that  so  many  churches  had  sprung  up  in  remote  districts 
to  which  no  missionary  had  ever  been  sent.  Exiles,  slaves, 
and  the  very  soldiers  employed  by  a  cruel  and  remorseless 
government,  had  been  the  heralds  of  the  Cross.  Su'  Bartle 
Frere,  m  his  Zanzibar  expedition  of  1872,  found  on  an  exti'eme 
point  of  Madagascar,  where  he  had  made  a  temporary  land- 
ing, a  congregation  of  two  thousand  Christians  who  had  never 
seen  a  missionary  ;  and  he  says  of  them,  that  he  never  wit- 
nessed religious  worship  which  seemed  more  orderly  or  heart- 
felt than  theu-s. 

The  following  incidents  show  the  kind  of  agents  who  some- 
times publish  the  truth  in  Turkey. 

A  notorious  thief  (Maghak  of  Bizmishen)  bought  a  Bible, 
was  converted,  provided  a  chapel  and  gathered  a  congregation, 
to  whom  he  read  the  Word  of  Life.     Another  to  whom  this 


THE    SPONTANEOUS    EXTENSION    OF   THE   TRUTH.  49 

man  sold  a  Bible  gathered  a  similar  congregation  forty  milca 
away.  Another  was  wont  to  read  the  Word  of  God  to  a  largo 
compiiny  in  a  stable.  A  revival  followed,  and  in  tvvo  years 
the  little  church  numbered  forty  members  and  twenty-ono 
hopeful  converts,  with  a  settled  pastor,  a  chapel,  and  a  par- 
sonage. "  These  people,  self-moved,"  says  Prof.  S.  C.  Bartlett, 
iu  his  sketch  of  The  Turkish  IMissions,  "  organized  a  mission- 
ary society  to  go  two  aud  two,  into  the  neighboring  villages, 
to  explain  and  sell  tlie  Bible.  Two  of  them  entered  Hooeli,  a 
village  where  ths  missionaries  had  repeatedly  and  vainly  en- 
deavored to  gain  a  foothold.  They  prayed  as  they  went,  '  O 
Lord,  give  us  open  doors  and  hearts.'  Their  prayer  was  an- 
swered. The  villagers  applied  to  the  missiouax'ies  for  a 
teacher  ]  but  as  none  could  be  had,  the  men  of  Perchenj  sent 
one  of  their  own  number  to  begin  the  work.  Soon  after,  a 
seminary  stadent  went  to  spend  his  summer  vacation  there, 
and  a  mob  pitched  him  and  his  effects  into  the  street.  But 
the  leaven  was  working.  A  place  of  worship,  holding  three 
htmdred  persons,  was  erected  ;  schools  were  opened  to  learn 
the  1  )ible ;  a  blessed  awakening  came,  attended  with  forty  or 
fifty  conversions,  including  some  of  the  most  hopeless  cases  in 
the  village  ;  and  at  the  last  information,  they  were  about 
to  organize  a  church,  and  to  settle  aud  support  as  pastor  one  of 
the  men  who  first  came  with  the  Bible  and  a  prayer  to  God 
for  a  hearing. 

"Such  is  the  nature  of  the  work.  Every  church  and  every 
community  of  Bible  readers  has  a  Bible  society,  that  sends 
forth  its  books  in  bags  on  the  backs  of  donkeys  ;  and  the 
churches  send  forth  theii-  members,  two  by  two,  for  days  and 
weeks  together  in  the  home  missionary  work.  The  community 
of  Harpoot  had  thirty -five  members  thus  engaged  at  one  time. 
They  are  also  prosecuting  a  '  Foreign  Missionary  '  enterprise 
in  a  region  extending  from  four  to  twenty  days'  journey  to  the 
south.  This  movement  is  aided  by  the  theological  students 
in  their  long  vacation — the  seminaiy  being  founded  on  the 
principle  of  accustoming  students  to  pastoral  work  while  pur- 
suing their  studies." 


50  THE    GKEAT    CONQUEST. 

In  Mexico,  tlie  IMission  work  has  shown  many  instances  of 
spontaDGOUS  growth.  The  Protestant  movement  was  well 
started  before  any  missionary  entered  the  field.  Bible  agents 
had  sold  the  Scriptures  which  proved  a  leaven  in  thousands  of 
families.  i^Iean while  the  empire  of  Maximilhan  had  fallen, 
and  with  it  the  supremacy  of  the  Papal  Church.  To  a  large 
extent  the  property  belonging  to  rehgious  orders,  and  which 
amounted  to  nearly  one-third  of  the  entu-e  wealth  of  the 
country,  was  confiscated.  Religious  freedom  was  declared,  and 
by  a  natm'ul  reaction  fi-om  a  tj^ranny  which  they  had  endm'ed 
for  over  three  centuries,  the  people  awolie  to  a  remarkable 
desh-e  for  that  truth  of  the  gospel  which  had  so  long  been 
withheld. 

In  Villa  de  Ctis,  a  mining  town  in  the  State  of  Zacatecas, 
fifteen  persons  sent  several  miles  for  a  Protestant — Rev.  Mr. 
Westrup,  of  Monterey — to  baptize  them.  From  that  begin- 
ning they  went  forward,  selecting  men  of  their  own  number  to 
jDreach  to  them  and  administer  the  ordinances.  They  re- 
ceived much  instruction  and  substantial  pecuniary  aid  from  an 
American  layman  resident  at  Zacatecas  ;  but  no  missionary- 
was  sent  to  them  till  they  had  already  reached  a  church  mem- 
bership of  one  hundred  and  seventy,  and  had  provided  a  neat 
chapel,  costing  about  $i,000.  In  many  towns  in  Mexico  the 
truth  spraug  up  as  a  result  of  Bible  distribution,  and  little 
conventicles  were  gathered  in  private  houses,  in  which  the 
Scriptures  were  read  and  exhortations  given  by  those  who  were 
counted  most  intelligent. 

Persecution  generally  added  interest  and  success  to  the 
work.  In  December,  1874,  Rer.  M.N.  Hutchinson,  American 
Presbyterian  Missionary,  in  Mexico  City,  was  invited  to  Aca- 
pulco,  where  a  spontaneous  religious  interest  had  arisen.  A  mob 
attacked  the  httle  congregation,  with  the  hope  of  kilHug  31  r. 
Hutchinson  and  others.  He  escaped  on  board  a  vessel  in  the 
harbor;  but  several  were  killed  and  others  wounded.  The 
congregation  v.-ere  scattered  among  the  mountain  villages,  and 
they  everywhere  made  known  the  truth. 


THE    SPONTANEOUS    EXTENSION    OF   THE   TRUTH.  51 

As  a  result.,  in  less  than  a  year  about  thirty  little  centres  of 
Protestantism  appeared  in  these  villages,  and  the  number  of 
believers  whose  conversion  was  traced  to  the  persecution  was 
nearly  five  hundred.  Among  them  was  a  large  number  of 
students  connected  with  a  government  college,  several  of 
whom  liave  commenced  preparations  for  the  ministiy. 

In  the  Spanish  republics  of  South  America  also,  the  truth  is 
being  extended  by  the  spontmeous  effort  of  the  native  popu- 
lation. When  Mr.  Gladstone's  pamphlet  on  Vaticanism  aj)- 
peared,  a  foreign  merchant  in  Valparaiso  requested  the 
missionaries  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  to  translate  and  pub- 
lish it  at  his  expense  for  the  benefit  of  intelligent  readers  on 
that  coast.  Before  the  proposed  issue  could  be  made,  how- 
ever, a  good  translation  of  it  appeared  in  the  leading  journal 
of  the  country  ;  and  thus  through  the  best  possible  medium 
it  was  brought  to  the  attention  of  leading  minds  throughout 
the  Republic  of  Chili. 

Not  long  after,  a  prominent  merchant  of  the  same  city 
ordered  fi-om  Europe  several  French  copii>s  of  Lavaleye's 
"  Protestantism  and  Catholicism  Compared ;  "  but  before 
they  had  arrived,  a  Spanish  repubhcatiou  of  this  work  also 
appeared  in  the  daily  laapers. 

Still  later  a  native  Chilian,  who  had  read  this  reprint,  pub- 
lished an  able  article  commending  the  pure  Word  of  God  as 
the  only  ti-ue  source  of  public  enlightenment  and  virtue,  and 
the  only  sure  foundation  for  the  State.  The  truth  can  no 
longer  be  suppressed.  Error  must  everyw^here  take  its 
chances.  Pvcal  jDrogress  finds  on  every  hand  a  thousand  co- 
efficient agencies. 


52  THE    GEEAT   CONQUEST. 

XIII. 

THE  COST  OF  MISSIONS.* 

One  of  the  common  objections  to  Foreign  Missions,  in  the 
view  of  a  certain  class  of  hyper-practical  men,  lies  in  the 
alleged  expensivcness  of  the  work  in  proportion  to  the 
results  gained. 

Articles  have  gone  the  rounds  of  the  newspapers  giving  the 
exact  cost  of  converts  per  capita  under  the  various  Mission- 
ary Societies.  This  is  a  very  unfair  style  of  objection  :  First, 
because  it  fails  to  make  due  allowance  for  the  fact  that  all 
enterprises  are  supposed  to  be  of  necessity  less  productive  in 
their  infancy,  than  in  their  matured  strength.  The  seed-time 
is  not  the  time  for  judging  the  rewards  of  the  harvest.  And 
secondly,  ony  attempt  to  measure  spiritual  results  by  mere 
dollars  and  cents,  is  absurd.  What  is  the  value  of  an  im- 
mortal soul  ?  What  was  its  cost  to  Him  who  "  for  our  sakes 
became  poor  ?"  Or  to  put  the  question  even  on  the  scale 
of  the  higher  earthly  values,  can  great  moral  influences  be 
meted  out  by  our  arithmetic  ? 

Who  has  ever  raised  the  inquiry  whether  Bunker  Hill 
Monument  has  earned  paying  dividends  on  the  first  invest- 
ment, or  whether  the  Centennial  of  1876  will  realize  to  the 
American. people  as  much  in  hard  dollars  as  it  will  cost?  The 
first  planted  germs  of  Christian  civilization,  in  a  country 
like  India  or  China,  are,  even  aside  from  the  computation  of 
immediate  conversions,  beyond  all  price.  Merely  as  germs 
they  carry  with  them  the  temporal  and  eternal  weal  of  mil- 
lions yet  unborn.  Though  for  the  present  they  should  yield 
no  fruit  and  offer  no  advantage,  yet  their  real  value  would  be 
inestimable.  "  No  man  liveth  unto  himself,"  and  no  generation 
liveth  unto  itself. 

The  noblest  deeds  of  mankind  are  those  which  lay  fi)un- 
dations  for  the  welfare  of  the  race  in  all  time.     But  the  plan 

*Tliis  paper  was  suggested  by  an  editor  of  a  leading  religious  paper 
•wlio  bad  observed  the  prevalence  of  tliis  style  of  criticism 


THE   COST   OF   MISSIONS.  53 

of  estimating  mission-work  by  the  [number  of  converts, 
leaves  wholly  out  of  view  the  large  expenditure  of  time  and 
money  which  is  given  to  the  education  of  the  younir.  'i'he 
pu[uls  of  various  grades  under  instruction  by  the  Presby- 
terian Board  number  over  12,000,  and  those  of  the  American 
Board  number  more  than  22,000. 

But  as  objections  must  sometimes  be  met  on  the  same  low 
grade  on  which  they  are  made,  the  cost  of  the  Foreign  Mission 
work  has  frequently  been  compared  with  that  of  coiTcspond- 
ing  departments  of  Christian  effort  at  home.  Of  course  such 
a  comparison  mi^st  involve  many  disadvantages  to  a  work, 
which  is  not  only  in  its  infancy,  but  which  must  contend  with 
the  hostile  influences  of  a  foreign  land  and  of  repellant  heathen 
systems. 

In  this  connection,  we  quote  the  following  from  an  article 
which  was  published  in  the  Missionary  Herald  of  March, 
1874: 

"  Take  the  Sandwich  Islands,  where  we  have  the  figures  of 
expense  and  results  at  the  time  (1870),  when  this  formally 
ceased  to  be  a  Mission  field.  The  expenditure  of  the  American 
Board  had  been  $1,220,000;  the  total  of  admissions  to  churches, 
55,300.  This  gives  an  expenditure  of  $22.06  per  convert.  The 
annual  export  and  import  trade  of  the  Islands,  based  mainly 
on  the  productive  industry  of  the  native  population,  developed 
in  very  large  measure  by  missionary  influence,  amounted  to 
over  64,300,000 — nearly  four  times  the  entire  amount  expended 
in  Christianizingr  the  Islands  !  And  now  that  we  are  on  fig- 
ures,  let  us  apply  them  a  little  further,  much  as  we  are 
disgusted  at  this  method  of  reckoning  up  sjnrifiial  results.  A 
church  in  this  country,  with  an  annual  expenditure  of  83,000 
a  year  for  current  expenses,  in  order  to  compete  with  the 
results  of  money  expended  in  the  instance  above  named,  should 
make  an  annual  increase  to  its  membership  of  136  ;  and  a  city 
church  spending  $10,000,  would  soon  be  obliged  to  colonize 
at  the  rate  of  450  members  annually!"  The  same  article 
quotes  from  a  statement  in  the  Missionary  Herald  for  Janu- 
ary, 1866 :    "  For  a  period  of  twenty- six  years,  1810-1866,  it 


64  THE    GREAT   CONQrEST. 

was  found  that  the  average  annual  number  of  additions  by 
profession  to  the  Congregational  churches  in  Massachusetts 
had  been  five  to  each  church,  and  five  and  one-half  to  each 
acting  pastor  ;  while  in  the  Missions  of  the  Board,  for  the 
same  time,  the  additions  had  averaged  twenty  annually  to 
each  church,  and  fourteen  and  one-half  to  each  missionary." 

A  similar  comparison  witli  relation  to  Baptist  Missions  and 
churches,  appears  in  The  Baptist  31issiona^-y  Magazine  of  De- 
cember, 1873. 

Durnig  the  year  ending  March  31,  1873,  the  Missionary 
Union  (Baptist)  expended  on  all  fields  and  for  all  purposes, 
including  the  purchase  of  grounds,  the  purchase,  erection, 
and  repairs  of  buildings,  printing,  books,  etc.,  $239,417.  On 
the  other  hand,  in  the  Long  Island  Association  alone,  there 
was  expended  by  the  churches  during  the  same  year  for 
home  expenses  only,  very  nearly  the  same  amount,  namely, 
$236,142.  The  number  of  persons  baptized  during  the  year, 
within  the  bounds  of  the  Association,  was  to  the  converts  of 
the  Missionary  Union  as  one  to  eight ;  so  that  the  cost  was 
eight  times  as  great. 

The  Southern  New  York  Association,  which  includes  the 
city  of  New  York,  reported  the  home  expenses  of  36  churches, 
out  of  51  in  the  Association,  at  $179,718.  If  these  repre- 
sented the  average  of  the  whole,  there  were  baptized  during 
the  year,  within  the  bounds  of  the  Association,  480  persons. 
This  shows  an  expenditure  for  each  person  bajitized  in  this 
Association  ten  times  as  great  as  on  the  Baptist  mission  fields. 

To  show  that  the  comparison  may  safely  be  made  in  the 
country  churches  as  well  as  in  those  of  the  cities,  the  following 
facts  are  added  from  the  same  source  : 

"  One  of  the  most  vigorous  Associations  in  the  State  of 
New  York,  in  which  there  is  no  large  city,  is  the  Black  River 
Association.  The  home  expenses  of  the  churches  of  the 
Association,  as  nearly  as  could  be  estimated  from  the  im- 
perfect reports,  were  about  $25,336."  According  to  the  num- 
ber of  converts  baptized,  the  expenses  per  convert,  in  this 
rural  district,  were  five  times  the  average  of  the  Union. 


THE    COST   OF   MISSIONS.  55 

Carrying  this  same  line  of  comparison  into  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  basing  our  estimate  upon  the  whole  Church -work 
and  the  whole  Mission- work,  instead  of  selecting  particular 
fields,  we  find  by  the  Assembly's  statistics  (to  use  the  offen- 
sive phrase  of  the  objector  to  Missions)  the  comparative 
cost  of  each  convert  at  home.  This,  howevei",  does  not 
take  into  account  the  hirge  sums  expended  for  religious 
books  and  papers,  and  for  education.  It  does  not  cover 
endowments  of  institutions,  nor  Government  aid  to  schools, 
nor  special  gifts  and  donations,  nor  many  other  things  which 
our  home  Christianity  costs.  But  on  the  foreign  field  all 
things  are  charged  to  the  one  single  treasury,  viz. :  Permanent 
Mission  property,  such  as  bouses,  chapels,  press-buildings, 
schools,  and  orphanages;  and  also  the  current  expenses,  not 
merely  of  preaching  the  gospel,  but  of  schools,  colleges,  hos- 
pitals, and  dispensaries  (in  part),  and  printing  establishments 
as  well  as  of  the  permanent  work  of  translating  the  Bible,  and 
preparing  a  Christian  literature. 

To  assess  the  whole  expense  of  this  varied  work  upon  the 
number  of  converts,  is  very  much  as  if  a  farmer  should  include 
in  the  estimated  cost  of  a  particular  crop,  tbe  expense  of  fell- 
ing forests,  and  of  fencing  and  draining  the  land — a  work  which 
should  be  chiefly  valued  as  preparing  for  a  hundred  future 
crops. 

Still  the  entire  work  of  the  Presbyterian  Board,  with  all 
its  translating,  printing,  and  physical  healing,  and  with  its 
colleges  and  seminaries,  and  other  schools  of  more  than 
12,000  pupils,  would  count  for  each  convert,  nearly  one-half 
less  than  the  objects  (of  partial  cost)  included  in  the  statistics 
of  the  General  Assembly. 

The  Presbyterian  Board  is  of  more  recent  origin  than  some 
of  the  other  great  Foreign  Missionary  Societies,  and,  like  a 
younger  tree,  has  not  yet  come  to  full  bearing;  and  it  has 
aimed  to  lay  its  foundations  in  the  great  centres  of  the 
world,  and  among  stronger  and  more  influential,  though  for 
that  reason,  less  plastic  races. 

Nevertheless  it  is  safe  to  assume  that,  other  things  being 


66  THE   GKEAT   CONQUEST. 

equal,  the  cost  of  its  results,  numerically,  is  only  about  half  as 
great  as  that  of  the  home  Church  as  a  whole. 

Rev.  David  Irving,  D.D.,  in  an  able  review  of  the  Foreign 
Mission  work  of  all  Boards,  for  the  last  fifty  years,  makes 
the  following  comparison  :  "  It  would  naturally  be  expected 
that  foreign  evangelization  would  be  more  expensive,  when 
the  difficulties  in  the  two  fields  arc  considered — the  crushing 
effects  of  heathenism  in  the  one  case  upon  the  civil,  social, 
and  moral  relations  of  the  people ;  and  the  enlightening  and 
elevating  effects  of  gospel,  of  law  and  order  upon  the  masses 
in  the  other  ;  in  the  preparation  of  the  people  on  the  one 
hand  to  receive  the  truth,  and  the  entire  absence  of  it  on  the 
other.  ]n  the  one  case,  man  speaks  to  his  fellow  in  their  com- 
mon language  and  country  ;  in  the  other,  the  preacher  is  a 
foreigner,  ignorant  at  first  of  the  language  and  people,  and 
living  often  in  an  unhealthy  clime  ;  in  the  one,  helps  and  ap- 
pliances for  work  are  abundant ;  in  the  other,  they  have  had 
to  be  made,  and  are  few%  as  yet,  when  compared  with  the 
number  in  the  other.  Without  running  the  contrast  farther, 
let  us  compare  the  statistics  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  for 
1825  and  for  1875.  According  to  the  Minutes,  there  were,  in 
1825,  1,080  ordained  ministers,  and  169,000  communicants; 
in  1875,  taking  in  the  Southern  Church  (as  part  of  the  body 
in  1825),  we  have  5,700  ministers  and  013,868  members,  or  a 
relative  gain  of  the  ministry  in  the  missionary  field  and  ia 
our  Church  nearly  the  same ;  in  membership  the  increase  to 
the  Foreign  Mission  churches  over  the  home  Church  is  as 
three  and  a  half  to  one;  but  allowing  the  native  helpers  as 
an  offset  to  Sabbath-school  workers  and  other  Christian  lay 
agents  at  home,  and  contrasting  simply  the  ministry,  and 
we  have  this  large  preponderance  of  communicants  through 
the  labors — taking  the  several  years  into  account — of  only 
about  one-third  the  workers.  But  more  than  this,  looking  at 
the  contributions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  for  her  own 
work  in  congregational  and  benevolent  outlays  for  our  own 
land,  the  amount  expended  for  these  jDurposes  alone,  is  double 
what  has  been  disbursed  by  all  churches  for  Foreign  Missions 


FOREIGN   MISSIONS    ESSENTIAL    TO   THE    CHURCH.  57 

*'  We  have,  then,  this  remarkable  fact,  that  taking  the  growth 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States  as  a  fair 
indication  of  the  aggrt^gate  increase  of  the  whole  Evangelical 
Church  in  it,  and  we  have  the  growth  of  the  IMission  churches 
three  and  a  half  times  greater,  with  one-third  of  the 
ministerial  force  and  at  one-half  the  cost." 

But  however  favorable  such  comparisons  may  be  to  the. 
Foreign  Missionary  success,  the  cause  docs  not  find  its  cliief 
inspirations  upon  so  low  a  grade.  It  must  be  impelled  by 
tlie  constraining  love  of  Christ,  who  even  gave  His  life  for  the 
salvation  of  men.  He  has  revealed  the  way  of  life  and  immor- 
tality to  us,  and  has  made  us  almoners  of  the  like  precious 
faith  to  others,  even  unto  the  ends  of  the  earth. 


XIV. 

FOREIGN   MISSIONS  ESSENTIAL  TO   THE   LIFE 
OF  THE  CIIUKCIL 

Rev.  Andrew  Fuller  found  at  a  certain  period  in  his 
pastorate  that  he  could  not  sustain  the  spiritual  life  and 
comfort  of  his  people.  Looking  always  upon  their  own 
frames  of  mind  and  their  corresponding  chances  of  a  personal 
salvation,  they  found  no  comfort.  Just  then,  he  tells  us,  the 
question  of  missions  to  the  heathen  arose,  and  he  turned  the 
attention  of  his  people  to  the  great  work  of  extending  Christ's 
kingdom.  The  effect  was  wonderful.  V/ith  the  laying  aside 
of  their  old  narrowness  and  selfishness,  their  doubts  dis- 
appeared. Watering,  they  were  watered;  blessing  others, 
they  were  blessed. 

This  principle  has  been  illustrated  again  and  again  in  the 
modern  history  of  the  Church.  The  cause  of  Missions  has 
been  one  of  the  most  valuable  of  all  agencies,  in  arousing  the 
Bpiritual  life  of  God's  people.  Their  general  intelligence  a^ 
Christians  has  been  increased;  their  theology  has  been  venti- 
lated and  expanded  ;  they  have  gained  better  conceptions  of 
the  s  :ope  of  Redemption  and  of  Christ's  Universal  Kingdom  ; 


58  THE    GEEAT   CONQUEST. 

and  they  have  come  to  apprehend  the  brotherhood  of  all  men 
in  a  broader  and  nobler  sense. 

All  great  plans  for  accomplishing  good  to  others,  reflect 
blessings  upon  the  character  and  Kfe;  all  enterprises  which 
lead  men  to  forget  tlieir  selfishness  and  act  by  a  common 
impulse  for  the  vindication  of  truth  or  the  elevation  of  human- 
ity, ennoble  their  authors  by  a  compensating  influence. 

Even  the  Crusades,  blind  and  fanatical  as  was  the  zeal  which 
promj)ted  tliera,  accomplislied  much  for  Europe,  if  not  for  the 
Holy  Land.  They  awakened  thought  and  enkindled  heroic 
aspii-ations.  They  enliglitened  the  semi-barbarous  States  of 
the  West  by  bringing  them  into  contact  with  other  races. 
And  that  narrow  and  fanatical  type  of  Christianity  which 
inspired  them,  was  itself  instructed  and  liberalized  and  pre- 
pared for  better  conquests. 

Thus  the  Crusades  helped  to  open  the  way  for  the  Reforma- 
tion by  stirring  the  stagnation  of  the  Dark  Ages,  and  arous- 
ing that  activity  of  thought  which  rendered  the  old  tyranny 
impossible.  But  if  such  was  the  influence  of  even  those  mis- 
guided enterprises,  how  much  grander  must  be  the  reflex 
benefits  of  this  conquest,  which  seeks  not  the  possession  of 
old  shrines  and  tombs,  but  the  precious  souls  of  men,  living 
temples  for  the  Holy  Ghost;  which  rears  not  forts  and  castles 
on  the  shores  of  Palestine,  but  churches,  and  pi'inting  presses, 
and  Bible  depositories,  and  schools,  and  colleges  ;  and  which, 
so  far  from  confining  itself  to  one  land,  seeks  to  hallow  all 
lands  by  the  establishment  of  that  kingdom  which  is  righteous- 
ness and  peace !  Those  romantic  conquests  also  promoted 
unity  of  spirit  among  Christian  nations  by  enlisting  them  in  a 
common  cause;  but  a  far  broader  union  of  spirit  has  been 
created  by  the  cause  of  Foreign  Missions. 

^Tio  can  estimate  the  value  of  the  Monthly  Concert  of 
Prayer,  sadly  as  it  has  been  neglected  ?  It  has  bound  together 
the  sympathies  of  all  Christendom,  softening  the  asi^erities  of 
sectarian  uncharitableness,  and  fixing  the  attention  of  all  upon 
the  great  last  command  of  their  common  Master. 


FOREIGN    MISSIONS    ESSENTIAL   TO    THE    CnUKCII.  59 

Not  only  from  the  older  Protestant  nations  and  the  many 
smaller  Christian  colonies,  but  also  from  a  thousand  mission 
stations  whose  cordon  of  outposts  now  belts  the  globe,  does 
this  prayer  ascend.  Though  from  a  hundred  tribes  and  in  as 
many  tongues,  it  rises  to  the  ear  of  Heaven  as  one  common 
petition,  "  Thy  Kingdom  come.'''' 

The  Church  has  been  greatly  enriched  by  this  fellowship 
and  participation.  The  very  songs  of  the  IMission  cause,  espe- 
cially those  thrilhng  lines  of  Bishop  Heber,  which  have  re- 
sounded in  the  ears  of  the  present  generation  from  infanc}-, 
have  given  to  Christian  life  a  higher  and  broader  inspii'ation. 
The  examples  of  devoted  men  and  women  who  have  literally 
obeyed  the  command  to  go  into  all  the  earth,  have  exerted 
theu'  elevating  influences. 

No  family,  no  pastor,  no  congregation,  or  Sabbath-school 
has  contributed  a  missionary  to  the  heathen  without  being 
made  richer  by  the  gift.  No  theological  class  has  seen  one  of 
its  members  turning  away  from  the  temptations  of  ambition 
or  ease,  and  sincerely  offering  himself  for  the  work  of  greatest 
need,  without  being  raised  to  higher  conceptions  of  Christian 
ambassadorship.  In  nothing  short  of  the  grace  of  life  itself  is 
the  Chui'ch  richer  than  in  her  accredited  representatives  in  the 
dark  places  of  the  earth.  They  are  proofs  of  her  vitality, 
pledges  of  her  faith  in  Christ,  and  earnests  of  her  ultimate 
success.  And  even  from  her  heathen  converts  she  has  gath- 
ered strength.  The  joy  and  gratitude  of  multitudes  reclaimed 
from  the  shadow  of  death,  the  exhibitions  of  Christian  con- 
stancy which  believers  in  various  lands  have  shown  in  trial 
and  persecution,  and  the  successes  gained  over  prejudice 
and  cruelty,  and  tl*e  stubborn  self-confidence  of  waning  sys- 
tems of  error,  have  all  served  to  strengthen  her  faith. 

These  principles  apply  with  equal  force,  whether  to  a  single 
Christian  heart,  or  to  a  particular  Church,  or  to  a  whole  de- 
nomination, or  even  to  a  Christian  nation. 

Individual  churches  have  invariably  prospered  in  propor- 
tion  to   their   missionary   zeal,  and  several  of  the  leading 


60  THE   GREAT   CONQUEST. 

Christian  denominations — notably  the  Baptists — might  almost 
date  their  remarkable  growth  from  the  commencement  of 
their  Mission  enter2:)rises.  With  the  light  that  is  now  possessed 
and  the  responsibility  which  great  opportunities  involve,  a 
seltish  Christianity  were  suicidal,  if  not  a  contradiction  of 
terms. 

A  New  York  pastor,  whose  congregation  were  struggling 
with  a  heavy  debt,  struck  a  true  principle  of  Christian  philos- 
ophy when  he  urged  them,  on  that  very  account,  to  enlist  in 
outside  mission  work.  "  We  have  so  much  to  do  among 
ourselves,"  he  said,  "  that  we  cannot  afford  to  withdraw 
from  the  help  of  others  in  Christ's  name.  We  cannot  do  even 
our  own  work  selfishly.  We  can  only  succeed  on  the  higher 
and  broader  principle  of  love  to  Christ  and  Kis  common 
cause." 

It  was  on  the  same  principle  that  a  Western  clergyman 
paid  in  a  public  meeting  :  "We  need  in  the  West  a  Christian- 
ity strong  enough  to  convert  the  world." 

Ho  had  the  forecast  to  see  that  selfishness,  either  denomi- 
national or  sectional,  would  be  fatal.  It  could  never  withstand 
the  materializing  influence  of  so  much  wealth.  There  must 
be  a  proper  proportion  between  material  greatness  and  spiritual 
power. 

The  relations  of  this  subject  to  small  and  feeble  churches, 
whether  on  the  Western  frontier  or  elsewhere,  is  most  vital 
to  our  own  future  welfivre,  as  well  as  to  the  cause  of  Missions. 
When  shall  a  small  church  begi7i  to  take  up  the  general  in- 
terests of  Christ's  kingdom  in  the  earth  ;  in  the  full  manhood 
of  its  strength  only,  or  in  its  childhood  and  very  infancy  ? 

Shall  even  those  churches  which  need  q,ssistance,  begin  at 
once  to  do  something  for  the  nations  that  sit  in  darkness  ? 
In  a  country  in  which  much  land  yet  remains  to  be  possessed, 
and  a  large  proportion  of  whose  churches  are  still  young,  the 
right  answer  to  these  questions  is  all-important,  since  it  must 
determine  the  type  of  Christianity  which  that  country  itself 
shall  have. 


FOREIGN   MISSIONS    ESSENTIAL   TO    THE    CHURCH.  61 

They  were  answered  nobly  by  the  Christians  of  New  Eng- 
land when,  amid  poverty  and  sttrn  frugality,  they  laid  the 
foundations  of  the  American  Board. 

They  were  met  in  the  same  spirit  in  Western  Pennsylvania 
by  those  who  in  "  the  day  of  small  things"  established  the 
nucleus  of  the  Presbyterian  Board.  They  were  answered 
promptly  and  generously  by  a  people  poorer  still,  the  Amer- 
ican Bajitists,  when  suddenly  and  unexpectedly  the  proviilence 
of  God  called  them  to  sustain  the  Mission  work  of  Judson 
and  Eice  in  India — called  them  as  signally  as  if  by  a  voice 
from  heaven  to  prepare  for  those  conquests  in  Burraah  which 
have  become  the  chief  glory  of  the  Baptist  denomination.  If 
these  early  examples  shall  be  followed  in  the  West  as  well  as 
in  the  East ;  if  the  same  spirit  shall  enter  into  the  religious 
life  of  all  sections  of  the  Church — on  the  prairies,  in  the 
mountain  territories,  and  along  the  Pacific  coast — then  the 
Christianity  of  our  country  is  safe.  Instead  of  the  downward 
gradation  of  selfishness,  worldliness,  infidelity,  and  spiritual 
desolation,  there  will  be  a  growing  consecration  to  Christ's 
king'dom  everywhere;  and  the  centre  of  the  American  con- 
tinent will  be  the  fulcrum  by  which  the  world  shall  be  lifted 
out  of  darkness  into  light.  The  law  of  exjiansion  must 
always  be  essential  to  the  life  of  the  Church. 

Already  in  the  Foreign  Mission  fields  it  is  found  that  an 
aggressive  spirit  is  indispensable  to  the  continued  thrift  of  the 
native  churches.  We  are  told,  that  in  1847  the  churches  in  the 
Sandw'ich  Islands  show'ed  signs  of  apathy  and  decay.  They 
had  been  only  recipients.  They  had  cared  for  their  ow'n  ;  and 
there  was  still  much  work  to  be  done  on  the  Islands.  "  But," 
says  Dr.  Anderson,  "  it  was  found  there  as  it  had  been  in  our 
country,  that  the  motive  power  of  the  home  missionary  plea 
alone,  is  not  of  itself  sufiieiently  awakening  and  powerful. 
In  short,  it  was  painfully  certain  that  the  infant  churches  on 
the  Islands,  regarded  as  a  w'hole,  could  not  be  raised  to  the 
level  of  enduring  and  eill-ctive  working  churches  without  a 
stronger  religious  inlkience  than  could  be  brought  to  act  upon 


62  THE    GKEAT    CONQUEST. 

them  from  within  theu"  own  Christianized  islands.  It  was 
also  evident  that  the  missionaries  themselves  then  needed 
an  additional  motive  power,  beyond  what  the  Isbnds  any- 
longer  afforded.  It  was  precisely  this  discovery — for  discov- 
ery it  was — which  gave  rise  to  the  Mission  to  Micronesia." 

A  special  indebtedness  of  the  Church  to  the  Mission  work 
is  seen  in  the  Week  of  Prayer.  Eighteen  years  ago,  the  fir^t 
public  call  to  this  world-wide  observance  came  as  a  cry  from 
a  mission  field  in  India.  Those  who  indited  the  request  had 
just  passed  through  terrible  trials;  they  had  seen  eight  of  their 
fellow-missionaries,  with  hundreds  of  English  residents,  cut 
down  with  fiendish  cruelty  by  the  rebellious  Sepoys,  and  they 
had  for  months  lived  in  constant  expectation  of  death.  At  the 
same  time  they  had  witnessed  wonderful  proofs  of  the  inter- 
vention of  God's  providence,  in  the  great  change  of  public  sen- 
timent and  the  policy  of  the  Government,  with  respect  to  the 
overthrow  of  caste  and  the  old  errors  and  the  introduction  of 
Christianity.  They  saw,  moreover,  that  the  sympathies  of  all 
Christendom  were  moved  for  India  ;  and  it  seemed  to  them 
that  the  time  had  come  for  a  great  advance  upon  the  kingdom 
of  darkness. 

Under  such  circumstances  none  could  resist  their  call.  All 
evangelical  churches  the  world  over  united  in  the  observance, 
and  that  without  specially  raising  the  question  of  reflex  bless- 
ings. But  after  the  lapse  of  eighteen  years,  this  week  of  prayer 
has  become  a  valued  institution  for  the  advancement  of  spiritual 
interests  in  our  home  churches. 

Perhaps  in  too  many  cases  the  martyr  blood  of  India  and 
the  wants  of  the  heathen  world  are  forgotten;  but  individual 
churches  count  upon  the  Week  of  Prayer  for  their  own  sake. 

Pastors  and  church  officers  look  forwai'd  to  it  as  a  time  of 
refreshing.  The  faith  of  Christians  gets  a  new  impulse.  The 
Sabbath-school  shows  more  of  thoughtfulness,  and,  in  hundreds 
of  instances,  blessed  revivals  are  the  result.  Ilow  riclil}'  has 
the  Church  been  repaid  for  all  her  pi'ayers  for  the  Mission 
cause.     Her  responsibility  is  correspondingly  increased. 


COLONIZATION  AS    RELATED    TO    MIBSIONS.  G3 

All  American  Methodist  Bishop  uttered  a  weighty  and 
niany-sitled  truth,  when  he  said  that  the  question  now,  was 
"  not  so  much  whether  the  lieathen  could  be  saved  without  the 
gospel,  as  whether  we  ourselves  can  be  saved  if  we  fail  to 
give  it  to  them." 


XV. 

COLONIZATION  AND  COMMERCE  AS  :.IEANS  OF 
THE  WORLD'S  EVANGELIZATION. 

We  have  already  spoken  of  the  great  array  of  Mission- 
ary Societies  and  tlie  host  of  their  actual  laborers,  and  of  the 
Christian  faith  and  zeal  of  tlie  tens  of  thousands  whom  thoy 
represent.  But  the  real  work  of  Missions  is  broader  than 
any  or  all  direct  tftbrts  of  men.  Under  that  divine  superintend- 
ence wliich  controls  the  forces  of  nature  and  the  world,  it 
embraces  all  human  enterprises  which  may  be  overruled  for 
good.     Conspicuous  among  these  is  colonization. 

In  the  apostolic  times,  the  gospel  followed  the  Jewish  mi- 
grations throughout  Asia  Minor  and  into  Eastern  Europe. 
Paul  found  the  way  prepared  for  him  everywhere  by  colo- 
nized Jews,  and  none  will  deny  that  he  owed  much  to  the 
fiicilities  thus  afforded  him.  Almost  invariably  he  first  en- 
tered the  synagogues  which  had  been  built  in  the  heathen 
cities.  After  setting  out  from  Antiocli,  with  Barnabas,  he 
preached  to  a  Jewish  or  mix  3d  audience  in  the  synagogue  at 
Salamis,  to  another  at  Antioch  in  Pisidia,  and  another  at 
Iconium, 

On  a  later  missionary  tour,  he  found  at  Philippi  "  a  place 
where  prayer  was  wont  to  be  made"  on  the  Sabbath.  At 
Thessalonica  and  Berea,  and  even  at  Corinth,  he  entered  the 
synagogues  and  proclaimed  the  truth.  At  Athens  he  preached 
both  to  Jews  in  their  synagogues,  and  to  the  heatlien  in  the 
market-place  and  in  the  Areopagus.  That  the  truth  had  fol- 
lowed Jewish  migrations  still  farther  West,  is  shown  by  the 


64:  THE   GREAT   CONQUEST. 

fact  that  Paul  sent  particular  salutations  to  numerous  Christian 
residents  in  Rome  before  he  had  visited  that  city. 

In  the  evangelization  of  Western  Europe,  there  was  a  similar 
co-operation  of  Missionary  effort  with  colonization.  And  the 
fact,  that  Protestant  Christianity  now  extends  over  the  North 
American  Continent,  is  due  mainly  to  the  tides  of  European 
emigration  which  nearly  three  centuries  ago  began  to  set  in 
this  direction.  Missionaries,  sent  forth  as  such,  accompanied 
these  colonies  ;  but  there  was  a  religious  element  in  the  char- 
acter and  motives  of  the  settlers  themselves,  some  of  whom 
had  fled  from  persecution.  Puritans  and  Hollanders  and 
Huguenots  sought  homes  not  merely,  but  an  asylum  for  their 
faith,  in  the  forests  of  the  new  continent. 

Some  of  the  pastors  of  the  colonial  congregations  were  also 
missionaries ;  and  many  of  the  noblest  Christian  laymen  who 
obtained  j^atents  for  settlements,  had  in  view  the  enlighten- 
ment of  the  native  tribes  of  the  country. 

The  new  communities  were  Christian  colonies.  Churches 
and  schools  were  made  the  chief  foundations  of  the  social  order  •, 
and  the  very  lavi's  were  framed  with  a  supreme  reference  to 
the  law  of  God. 

In  our  own  day,  the  settlement  of  California  and  the  Pacific 
coast  has  illustrated  the  importance  of  commercial  enterprise 
and  migration  in  the  extension  of  the  Gospel  over  the  world. 

It  is  but  a  quarter  of  a  century  since  the  throng  of  gold 
miners  began  to  cross  the  Rocky  Mountains  or  the  Southern 
Isthmus  for  the  El  Dorado  of  the  Pacific;  but  already  a 
vigorous  Christian  civilization  extends  up  and  down  the  coast 
from  Puget's  Sound  to  San  Diego.  Not  only  in  mining 
and  agriculture  has  California  taken  a  high  stand,  but  in  her 
plans  for  education  and  general  advancement.  Schools  and 
colleges  and  eleemosynary  institutions,  churches  and  Sab- 
bath-schools, and  ecclesiastical  organizations  for  the  general 
diffusion  of  Christianity,  have  even  in  this  short  period  placed 
these  new  communities  almost  abreast  with  the  oldest  Chris- 
tian countries. 


COLONIZATION   AS    RELATED   TO   MISSIONS.  65 

But  it  would  bi;  erroneous  to  ascribe  the  wonderful  phenome- 
non of  an  advanceJ  civilization  now  extending  np  and  down  the 
coast  and  ennbr;iciiig  three  great  commonwealths  to  missionary 
efforts  a'one.  A  recent  writer  alluding  to  the  fact,  that  just 
one  hundred  years  ago  two  Roman  Catholic  Missionaries  en- 
tered the  Golden  Gate  and  established  themselves  at  San  Fran- 
cisco, draws  a  contrast  betM'^een  the  little  that  they  had  accom- 
plished in  the  tluee-quarters  of  a  century,  and  the  grand  results 
of  the  Protestant  occupation,  which  has  yet  continued  but  one- 
third  of  that  period.  It  must  not  be  regarded  as  a  mere  differ- 
ence between  Romanism  and  Protestantism,  however;  for  two 
Prottstant  missionaries,  or  even  a  thousand,  could  not  have  made 
California  what  it  is.  Nor  would  Anglo-Saxon  enterprise  have 
availed  but  for  the  discovery  of  gold.  All  the  causes  which  led 
to  the  result  were  a  part  of  God's  plan.  Indeed  it  is  one  of 
the  cheering  considerations  in  the  Mission-work,  that  it  may 
count  all  God's  providences  on  its  side.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  Missionary  element  is  indispensable  to  colonization.  Solid 
foundations  of  s/>ciai  order  camiot  be  laid  without  it.  The  first 
settlers  of  San  Francisco,  appalled  by  the  lawlessness  of  the 
community,  sent  to  the  Sandwich  Islands  for  a  Foreign  Mis- 
sionary to  come  and  enlighten  the  heathenism  of  unrestrained 
adventui'ers.  They  urged  also  the  earliest  possible  supply  of 
Home  Missionaries  from  the  Atlantic  States. 

Three  things  then  were  requisite  to  this  rapid  and  wonderful 
civilization  of  the  Pacific  coast.  First :  The  secular  induce- 
ments that  should  attract  a  numerous  and  enterprising  popula- 
tion. This  was  found  in  the  gold  mines,  and  the  remarkable 
fertility  of  the  soil.  Second  :  It  was  essential  that  it  be  an  im- 
migration of  the  An'jlu-S:.xon  rather  than  of  the  Latin  races  ; 
and  that  it  be  Protestant  instead  of  Roman  Catholic. 

The  Mexican  and  South  American  States  sufficiently  illus- 
trate the  poor  colonial  success  of  either  Spanish  or  Portuguese 
Papists  in  the  Western  Hemisphere. 

And  thirdly  :  With  an  Anglo-American  and  Protestant  pop- 
ulation, it  was  also  necessary  that  the  Gospel  be  introduced  at 


OQ  THE    GREAT    CONQUEST. 

the  outset  and  with  the  utmost  vigor.  Tiiere  must  be  more  than 
a  nominal  Protestant  influGnC'.'.  Leading  Christian  raeu  were 
anxious  that  their  California  institutions  should  be  as  truly 
religious  as  those  which  they  had  left  in  the  Eastern  States. 
Everything  depended  on  right  beginnings. 

And  the  various  denotninatious  at  the  East,  seeing  the  im- 
portance of  early  foundations,  readily  sent  their  missionaries 
to  the  Pacific  coast,  though  it  required  double  the  salaries  of 
men  employed  in  the  Central  West. 

The  result  has  been  veiy  remarkable,  especially  in  view  of 
the  disorders  which  at  first  prevailed. 

And,  looking  at  the  geographical  position  of  the  Pacific 
States,  and  considering  the  influx  of  a  large  Mongolian  im- 
migration to  their  shores,  and  the  intimate  relations  which 
they  are  likely  to  hold  with  the  Japanese  and  Chinese  empires, 
one  is  impressed  with  the  important  influence  which  these 
new  centres  of  power  are  likely  to  exert  in  the  evangelization 
of  the  world.  More  and  more  every  year  the  churches  of  Cali- 
fornia are  awakening  t6  the  fact  that  the  grandest  opportuni- 
ties for  effectuating  the  enlightenment  of  the  Mongolian  race 
are  found  on  their  own  soil  and  within  the  sound  of  their 
own  church-bells. 

The  history  of  California  has  been  substantially  repeated  in 
Australia.  Men  of  middle  age  will  remember  when  little  was 
known  of  that  great  insular  continent  except  as  a  penal  colony. 
But  gold-mining  and  the  gospel,  Anglo-Saxon  energy,  and  Mis- 
sionary zeal,  British  constitutional  government,  and  the  Bible, 
have  wrought  their  usual  results. 

"The  objects  of  the  British  Government  in  the  formation  of  the 
first  settlement  at  Port  Jackson,  in  1788,"  says  the  author  of  a 
recent  statistical  work,  published  by  the  "Wesleyan  Missionary 
Society,  "  was  to  make  it  a  receptacle  for  criminals,  in  which 
plans  of  a  reformatory  character  might  be  tried,,  and  opportuni- 
ties be  given  to  that  unhappy  class  of  the  community  to  begin 
life  again  under  circumstances  favorable  to  their  moral  renova- 
tion.    The  rise  and  progress  Avithin  the  last  forty  years  is  a 


COLOKIZATION    AS    KELATtU    TO    MISSIOA^S.  G* 

marvel.  There  had  been  nothing  hke  it  in  the  past  history  of 
tlie  world.  Eighty-six  years  ago  there  was  not  a  single  civil- 
ized m.iu  on  the  Australian  Continent,  or  in  the  adjacent 
islands  of  Tasmania  and  New  Zealand.  At  this  day  (1874:) 
there  are  two  millions. 

"The  influence  which  these  Colonies,  so  purely  British  in  the 
character  of  their  pnpnlations,  will  eventually  exercise  upon 
Polynesia  and  the  Asiastic  nations  from  Japan  to  India, 
and  upon  the  Indian  Archipelago  and  New  Guinea,  must  be 
very  great;  and,  from  the  character  of  the  Australian  popula- 
tion, and  frcm  the  missionary  spirit  of  the  Australian  churches, 
it  must  be  for  gooJ,  In  no  English  community  does  there 
exist  a  greater  desire  for  the  spread  of  education  and  the  circu- 
lation of  sound  hterature.  In  Sydney  and  Melbourne,  and 
Adelaide,  there  are  excellent  public  libraries,  each  of  which  is 
fully  equal  to  any  of  the  libraries  in  the  larger  towns  of  the 
mother  country.  The  notion  that  there  are  the  remains  of  a 
large  convict  element  in  the  population  of  the  older  colonies  is 
a  great  mistake.  There  is,  on  the  wdaole,  a  larger  proportion 
of  well-informed,  educated  people  in  the  Australian  colonies 
than  among  the  same  number  of  people  at  home,  and  their  religi- 
ous feeling  is  fully  equal.  What  may  we  not  expect  from  the 
influence  of  such  a  population  ? " 

In  the  early  days  of  t])e  colony,  a  poor  woman  whose 
name  has  not  been  recorded,  gathered  a  few  children  in  her 
rude  dwelling  and  tried  to  teach  them.  A  clergyman  was 
led  by  this  example  of  devotion  to  request  help  from  the  Society 
for  the  Prop  igation  of  the  Gospel  in  1792.  Grants  of  £10  a 
year  were  made  to  three  female  and  to  one  male  teacher.  A 
School  and  Corporation  Act  was  passed  in  1825,  and  a  National 
Board  of  Education  was  established  in  1848. 

At  the  present  time,  both  Australia  and  New  Zealand  have 
vigorous  educational  institutions,  embracing  G'>vernment  schools 
from  the  lower  grades  to  the  college  and  the  university.  Such 
cities  as  Melbourne,  Sydney,  Adelaide,  and  Auldand,  are  well 
supplied  with  fine  churches,  Sabbath -schools,  charity  hospitals, 


68  THE    GREAT   CONQUEST. 

and  local  Missionary  societies  and  Bible  depositories.  In  Vic- 
toria education  is  wiiolly  supjjorted  by  the  Government,  and  is 
compulsory. 

The  following  statistics  are  given  for  all  the  colonies : 

Nominal  Protestants.     Ptipils  in  Schools. 

New  South  Wales 137,000    106,340 

Queensland 93,000    20,737 

Victoria 540,000    174,000 

S.Australia 15f,000    15,790 

W.  Australia 18,000    2,336 

Tasmania 80,000    16,000 

New  Zealand 217,000    31,710 

The  extent  to  which  Church  edifices  have  been  erected  will 
appear  from  the  following  table  representing  Church  accommo- 
dations in  Victoria: 

Church  Accommodations 

Wesleyans 92,900 

Presbyterians 64,000 

Church  of  England 59,670 

Kornan  Catholics 57,760 

Independents 15,050 

Primitive  Methodists 12,756 

Baptists 12,830 

Union  Methodists 5,500 


320,472 
In  accomplishing  the  remartable  results  which  Australia  pre- 
sents to-day,  a  dozen  Missionary  societies  of  Great  Britain  co- 
operating with  Christian  colonists,  have  taken  wise  advantage 
of  aD  the  flxcilities  furnished  by  mining  and  commerce,  and  all 
those  forms  of  enterprise  which  so  characterize  British  settlers 
everywhere. 

But  not  in  Australia  alone  has  this  work  of  Christian  coloniza- 
tion extended.  It  is  difficult  to  find  any  portion  of  the  globe  in 
which  the  Anglo-Saxon  with  his  Bible  and  his  Church,  his 
schools  and  newspapers,  and  telegraphs,  and  facilities  for  travel 


COLONIZATION    AS    RELATED   TO   MISSIONS.  (jO 

and  trade,  has  not  in  these  last  fifty  years  planted  his  standard 
for  pcniiancnt  occnpation.  Those  ideas  of  God  and  the  destiny 
of  man,  of  law  and  order,  and  huinatiity,  which  have  made  him 
gnat,  he  is  destined  to  promulgate  throughout  the  earth.  His 
aggressions  are  often  rough  and  not  always  free  from  injustioc, 
hut  on  the  whole  he  is  a  great  benefactor  of  the  nations — the 
chief  apostle  of  Christian  civilization  on  all  continents,  and  in 
the  islands  of  the  sea.  All  around  the  coast  of  dark  Africa, 
England  has  established  colonies.  At  Sierra  Leone,  Cape 
Colony,  and  Natal,  are  all  the  institutions  of  government,  edu- 
cation and  religion,  while  in  Zanzibar,  Abyssinia,  and  Egypt, 
the  influence  of  Britain  is  exerted  for  civilization  and  humanity. 

At  Hitng-Kong,  Singapore,  and  Penang,  she  has  established 
her  institutions  ;  recently  New  Guinea  and  Fijee  are  coming 
under  her  influence ;  and  already  Fejee  has  six  thousand  Euro- 
pean settlers. 

But  perhaps  the  most  important  colonial  enterprise  in  mod- 
ern times,  at  least  since  the  planting  of  Protestant  institutions 
in  North  America,  is  seen  in  the  Anglo-Indian  Empire.  The 
English  have  colonized  India  in  a  modified  and  yet  in  a  vexy 
important  sense.  The  masses  of  the  population  must  ever  be 
Hindu  and  not  Anglo-Saxon  ;  and  the  latter  will,  perhaps,  con- 
tinue to  present  the  changes  which  are  involved  in  a  temporary 
residence.  But  the  British  element  is  always  sufficiently 
strong  to  be  controlling.  As  the  exiled  heroes  of  Troy  are 
said  to  have  carried  their  Trojan  customs  and  religion  into 
Latium,  and  imposed  laws  \ipon  the  rude  tribes  of  Italy ;  as 
the  Normans  crossed  the  Channel  and  established  their  domi- 
nant influence  over  the  Saxons  and  other  tribes  of  the  British 
Islands — in  some  such  sense  the  English  have  colonized  India, 
They  have  firmly  planted  British  institutions,  and  are  rapidly 
developing  the  resources  and  molding  the  most  influential 
thought  of  the  country.  India  is  practically  a  British  Empire. 
The  cupidity  and  injustice  of  a  trading  company  had  much  to  do 
Avith  its  early  establishment,  and  in  the  stupendous  result  there 
have  been  many  instances  in  which  God  has  overruled  evil  for 


70  THE    GREAT    CONQUEST. 

good  ;  but  as  a  phenomenon,  and  as  a  prophecy  of  the  future 
destiny  of  the  oldest  heathen  races,  British  India  fills  us 
with  wonder.  It  is  one  of  the  principal  fields  of  the  modern 
Missionary  enterprise,  and  one  in  which  its  most  difficult  prob- 
lems have  been  successfully  bolved.  And  it  is  a  cheering  fact 
that  Missionary  influence  has,  after  much  perscicution^  won  the 
confidence,  and  to  a  large  extent  the  moral  support,  of  the 
Government. 

The  latest  statistics  give  in  India,  including  Burmah  and 
Ceylon,  about  350,000  native  Christians,  and  90,000  communi- 
cants in  the  native  cburehes.  "Who  can  estimate  the  i.ifluence 
of  this  British  Empire  with  its  churches  and  schools,  and  sup- 
plemented by  the  acknowledged  and  welcome  co-operation  of 
over  thirty  Missionary  organizations  during  the  century  to 
come.  It  is  situated  in  the  heart  of  the  Asiatic  continent,  and 
the  arms  of  its  power  reach  forth  in  every  direction  over  softer 
and  more  plastic  racis. 

It  sways  a  sceptre  over  two  hundred  and  fifty  millions  of  tho 
hiiman  race,  and  its  influence  must  reach  other  millions  on 
every  side.  Its  Anglo-Saxon  lineage  irnplies  aggression  and 
molding  power,  and  its  Protestant  faith  gives  promise  that  the 
Bible,  and  not  a  crucifix  or  a  tradition,  shall  take  the  place  of 
Juggernauth  and  the  Vedas. 


XYI. 
WOMAN'S    WORK    FOR    MISSIONS. 

The  great  impulse  which  his  of  late  been  given  to  woman'a 
work  for  Missions  is  the  result  of  a  twofold  change. 

First,  the  views  of  the  Church  have  undergone  some  modifi- 
cation in  regard  to  the  propriety  of  organiz'd  efl:ort  among 
women  for  benevolent  objects.  The  late  war  of  the  Rebellion 
disclosed  a  great  power  and  efficiency  in  the  concerted  action  of 
American  women  both  North  and  South.     The  Sanitary  and 


womjVn's  work  for  missions.  71 

Christi-an  Commissions,  with  :ill  that  was  clone  hy  womanly 
liauds  in  lio:ipital  service,  as  well  as  iu  raising  means  for  the 
soldiers'  comfort  on  the  field,  developed  a  power  which  at  the 
close  of  the  war  stood  ready  for  other  lines  of  effort.  The 
Christian  women  of  the  land  had  learned  their  strength,  and  were 
desirous  of  using  it  in  other  ways.  For  the  most  part,  so 
fiir  from  aspiring  to  any  rivalry  with  man  in  his  sphere,  they 
rather  sought  to  promote  the  interests  of  true  womanhood  in  all 
lands.  Hence,  Woman''. "s  Work  fo?-  TFoma?!  became  their  motto, 
and  they  looked  abroad  for  opportunities  where  the  greatest 
need  was  felt. 

Meanwhile  another  change  was  taking  place.  At  Calcutta  a 
missionary's  wife  had  gained  access  to  a  zenana. 

Anglo  vernacular  education  in  India,  which  some  among  us 
had  thought  of  little  value,  in  a  missionary  point  of  view,  had 
brought  forth  uuexpectccl  fruit  in  breakin;:;;  down  the  old  Hindu 
notions  in  regard  to  the  seclusion  of  women.  Graduates  of  the 
Calcutta  University  found  themselves  companionless  in  their 
own  homes  ;  for  they  had  no  wives,  but  only  dolls  or  slaves. 

When  they  visited  their  English  friends,  and  saw  that  woman 
could  be  the  equal  of  her  husband,  and  the  chief  ornament  of 
her  home,  they  felt  keenly  the  contrast.  Here,  then,  were  the 
germs  of  a  great  social  revolution  springing  up  in  the  highest 
and  most  influential  ranks. 

It  spread  apace.  The  old  order  of  things  was  doomed.  Men 
w'lio  could  lecture  ()n  History  or  Political  Science  before  mixed 
audiences  Ih  Calcutta,  could  no  longer  tolerate  the  ignorance 
and  folly  of  a  barred  zenana.  Thus  a  field  was  opened  worthy 
of  the  zeal  and  enthusia:?m  of  Christian  women  everywhere. 
The  old  Brahmiuism  had  taught  doctrines  which  not  only  en- 
slaved the  lower  orders  of  men,  but  which  laid  on  all  women  still 
heavier  burdens  and  disabihtie-*.  For  ages  the  millions  of 
Indian  women  had  rested  under  the  terrible  curse  of  this  system. 
Now  there  was  an  opportunity  to  emancipate  them.  Never 
Avas  a  grander  work  presented  for  willing  hearts  and  hands. 
Not  to  heed  the  call  would  have  been  to  iarnore  the  voice  of 


72  THE    GREAT   CONQUEST. 

Providence  and  to  stifle  all  emotions  of  gratitude  on  the  part 
oi' those  for  whom  the  gospel  had  done  so  much. 

And  so  general  has  been  the  response  to  this  great  call  that 
the  best  talent,  and  culture,  and  piety  of  women  in  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain  are  now  pretty  generally  enlisted  in 
the  wcirk.  Women  of  all  denominations  have  organized  their 
forces  for  the  common  end  ;  and  since  public  attention  has  been 
called  to  the  work  it  is  found  that  not  India  alone,  but  China 
and  Japan,  Syria,  Persia,  and  Siam,  and  indeed  all  the  great 
Mission  fields,  are  opening  the  way  for  the  efforts  of  Christian 
women. 

The  work  is  different  from  any  in  which  woman's  philan- 
thropy has  hitherto  been  specially  enlisted.  The  care  of 
orphans  and  widows  has,  for  a  long  time,  engaged  womanly 
sympathy.  For  a  quarter  of  a  century  also,  worthy  and  well- 
deserved  effort  has  been  put  forth  for  the  wives  and  families  t)f 
Home  missionaries  on  our  own  frontier. 

But  that  which  lends  the  chief  inspiration  to  this  remarkable 
movement  is  something  wholly  clifferciit.  Therd  is  no  ground 
for  comparison  between  the  care  given  to  missionaries'  wives 
on  the  Home  and  on  the  Foreign  fields;  for  in  the  latter  case  it 
is  not  the  comfort  or  the  self-denial  of  missionaries'  wives  that 
is  considered,  though  their  hardships  are  great  ;  but  it  is  the 
awful  degradation  of  millions  on  millions  of  the  female  sex  who 
have  never  shared  the  divine  pity  of  the  gospel;  it  is  the 
thought  that  of  all  the  woes  of  heathenism,  the  chief  burden 
has  for  ages  fallen  upon  woman  ;  it  is  the  sad  and  condemna- 
tory reflection  that,  while  for  two  thousand  years  the  gospel 
has  done  so  much  for  the  female  sex  in  Christian  lands,  the  same 
boon  has  not  been  given  to  the  great  mass  of  womankind  in  all 
lands. 

"  As  a  dream  when  one  awaketh  "  so  the  women  of  Christen- 
dom now  look  upon  the  strangeness  of  past  neglect;  and,  join- 
ing h&nd  in  hand  across  all  denominational  lines,  all  barriers  of 
language  or  nationality,  all  bounds  and  distances  of  land  or  sea. 


WOMAN'S   WORK   FOE   MISSIONS.  78 

they  are  belting  the  globe  with  the  bonds  of  their  sympathy 
and  love. 

But  is  there  a  real  need  of  such  a  movement  ?  Are  not  the 
women  of  other  lands  as  happy  as  those  of  this  conntry,  only 
in  a  different  way,  and  according  to  their  measure  ?  Men,  like 
the  author  of  "  Typee,"  would,  perhaps,  insist  that  light-hearted 
and  unthinki.ig  enjoyment  and  a  real  ignorance  of  their  degra- 
dation are  more  desirable  for  the  women  of  pagan  lands  than 
the  partial  enlightenment  which  we  are  able  to  give  them. 

It  is  useless  to  deal  Avith  such  theories  in  detail.  From 
isolated  facts  and  observations  it  were  impossible  to  derive 
conclusions  that  would  convince  all  minds. 

But  there  are  great  nnderlying  principles  whose  influence 
none  can  ignore.  For  example,  it  is  a  safe  criterion  to  judge 
all  religious  systems  by  the  place  which  they  assign  to  woman. 
If  they  degrade  the  one  sex,  they  will,  in  the  next  generation, 
debase  the  other  ;  and  the  whole  fabric  of  society  will  sink 
gradually  into  irrecoverable  ruin. 

Let  us  apply  this  test ;  first,  to  Buddhism. 

It  is  an  article  in  the  Buddhist  fuith,  that  woman  has  no  hope 
in  the  future  life  excqot  that  of  bsing  born  a  man. 

"  The  system,"  says  a  high  authority,  "leaves  woman  where 
it  found  her  2,000  yea7's  ago.  Instead  of  educating  and  elevat- 
ing her;  instead  of  breaking  those  chains  of  slavery  in  which 
women  were  held  all  over  Asia  ;  instead  of  giving  them  a  posi- 
tion in  society  worthy  of  their  innate  purity.  Buddhism  grudg- 
ingly allowed  them  a  place  in  the  hierarchy  as  nuns,  but  with 
the  distinct  understanding  that  there  was  no  hope  of  salvation 
for  them  unless  through  being  re-born  as  men." 

There  is,  then,  no  blessing  for  woman  as  woman.  At  the  best 
she  may  only  hope  in  returning  to  her  Creator  to  correct  the 
dreadful  mistake  of  her  present  existence  by  being  born  on  a 
higher  grade. 

By  implication  her  life  is  a  calamity  ;  she  lives  on  a  lower 
plane  and  is  an  inferior  creature. 


74  THE    GREAT   CONQIJEST. 

Buddhist  priests,  according  to  another  authority^  are  accus- 
tomed to  teach  all  women  that  their  sex  is  at  once  a  proof  of,  and 
a  punishment  for,  the  sins  committed  by  them  in  some  former 
existence. 

There  is  in  China,  a  partially  counteractive  influence  in  the 
respect  accorded  to  parents.  The  Chinese  mother-in-law  is 
invested  with  a  kind  of  influence  and,  we  may  say,  terror. 
She  is  often  found  to  be  the  more  relentless  and  cruel  for  the 
misery  which  she  suffered  when  under  the  same  servitude  to 
another. 

Besides,  the  respect  which  she  claims  is  a  fruit  of  Confucian- 
ism— not  of  Buddhism.  She  holds  it  rather  in  spite  of  the 
latter  system.  Instead  of  promising  her  the  worship  of  her 
descendants,  it  assures  her  that  she  may  be  born  into  the 
donkey  that  serves  them  ;  and  at  best  she  cannot  attain  to 
Nirwana. 

Who,  then,  will  need  be  told  that  this  sweeping  dogma  affects 
the  whole  life  and  happiness  of  woman  ;  blots  out  all  hope, 
quenches  all  aspiration,  robs  her  of  that  prospective  comfort 
in  the  future  which,  to  others,  mitigates  the  darkest  woes  of 
life  ?  What  respect  can  she  receive  from  man  under  such  a 
system  ?  And  what  wonder  that  throughout  those  vast  Asiatic 
countries — China,  Japan,  Corea,  Mongolia,  Thibet,  Cambodia, 
Siam,  Burmah,  and  Ceylon — she  is,  in  fact,  everywhere  de- 
graded ! 

Let  the  same  test  be  applied  to  Brahminism.  According  to 
that  system,  Avoman  exists  only  for  man.  She  is  merely  an 
adjunct  to  his  superior  life.  If  he  lives,  she  may  count  it  her 
joy  to  be  consumed  like  the  perfume  of  a  flower  for  his  profit 
or  delectation.  If  he  dies,  she  should  die  ;  she  should  be 
burned  with  his  remains.  More  fortunate  than  her  Buddhist 
sister,  she  may  reach  her  goal  as  a  woman,  but  it  should  be 
through  the  smoke  of  her  husband's  pyre.  Failing  to  be 
burned,  she  should  still  consume  herself  by  a  life  of  penance  for 
her  husband's  sake. 

Here,  again,  is  a  sweeping   principle,  which  caiTies  with  it 


woman's  woek  foe  missions.  75 

degradation  and  woe  to  all  womanhood.  The  wail  of  the  des- 
pised and  down-trodden  sex  has  gone  up  to  the  ear  of  heaven 
for  ages  from  the  millions  of  India  ;  and  now,  at  last,  it  is 
hoard  also  by  her  own  sistoi's  who  show  her  pity  in  Christ's 
name. 

Even  Brahminism,  with  strange  inconsistency,  has  paid  a 
romantic  honor  to  distinguished  women  of  real  or  mythical 
history. 

The  mythology  of  the  Hindus  has  its  counterpart  to  the 
Grecian  Helen,  and  pays  high  tiibute  to  the  virtue  of  imagin- 
ary women.     But  the  general  curse  remains. 

One  need  not  enter  into  detiils  in  order  to  covince  a  thourrht- 
fill  mind  on  this  subject.  Each  one  can  readily  trace  the  blif^ht 
of  such  principles  as  we  have  named.  The  degradation  is  all 
the  worse  that  it  is  imposed  by  religious  authority.  Man,  in 
a  state  of  ignorance,  naturally  oppresses  the  weaker  sex. 
Woman  is  a  drudge  among  all  savage  tribes. 

But  under  both  Buddhism  and  Brahminism  the  wrong  is 
organized  into  a  system  ;  cruelty  borrows  divine  sanctions,  and 
appalls  the  soul  at  the  same  time  that  it  degrades  the  body.  It 
carries  its  torture  beyond  the  grave,  and  blights  all  future  hope. 
It  becomes  dogma,  and  so  forges  its  perpetual  shackles,  and 
holds  successive  generations  under  its  terrible  sway. 

Once  more,  we  apply  the  same  test  to  Mohammedanism. 

According  to  the  teachings  of  the  Koran,  every  good  Mus- 
sulman shall  have  a  future  harem  peopled  by  houris,  or  wives 
of  celestial  mttld  and  unspeakable  beauty.  Such  is  the  dream 
which  the  sensual  proclivities  of  Mohammed  might  have  been 
expected  to  suggest  to  the  prurient  fancy  of  the  faithful  ;  and 
it  has  borne  its  own  natural  fruit  in  the  character  of  all  Moslem 
nations.  But  in  this  glowing  picture  of  houris  who  are  to  o-race 
the  harems  of  heaven,  what  becomes  of  the  millions  of  Moslem 
women  who  with  close,  stifling  veils  walk  about  sadly  amid  the 
drudgeries  of  this  tame  and  too  real  earthly  life  ?  "  Some  of 
the  most  virtuous  will  be  saved,"  the  Moullab,  wnth  much 
gravity  aud  with  pious  parentheses,  would  doubtless  tell  us. 


7Q  THE   GREAT    CONQUEST. 

But  if  they  are  saved,  what  place  shall  be  assigned  them 
TheyAxe  not  beautiful,  but  the  extreme  reverse;  and  they  know 
it.  Considering  the  sensitive  and  proud  spirit  of  women,  and 
their  jealousy  of  any  created  thing  that  dares  come  between 
them  and  their  husbands,  are  the  wives  of  the  Mohammedan 
world  likely  to  be  enchanted  with  the  prospect  before  them  1 
Is  it  not  plain  that  the  heaven  of  the  Moslem  man  is  pre- 
cisely the  hell  of  the  Moslem  woman  1  Are  there  not  volumes 
of  woe  to  the  female  sex  bound  up  in  that  one  promise  of  the 
Koran,  which  constitutes  the  chief  lure  of  debased  Mussulmen  ? 
The  Moslem  rulers  of  India  have,  in  a  few  instances,  almost 
worshiped  woman,  and  the  costliest  tombs  have  been  reared 
to  their  memory.  They  were  houris  on  earth.  But  for  each 
of  these  strangely  favored  ones,  there  were  millions  of  their 
own  sex  in  abject  misery. 

Let  men  tafk  and  write  in  praise  of  Islam,  as  of  Brahrainism 
and  Buddhism;  the  women  of  Christian  lands  will  not  be  misled 
by  sophistries.  They  have  come  to  the  rescue  in  right  earnest ; 
for  their  womanly  instinct  can  discern  more  clearly  than  false 
rhetoric  can  express,  the  real  effect  of  such  dogmas  as  we 
have  named,  upon  the  welfare  of  their  sex. 

Tlic  time  for  action  has  come.  The  tide  of  enthusiastic 
interest  has  set,  and  nothing  can  check  its  flow. 


XYII. 

BUDDHISM     IN    ITS    PRACTICAL    RELATION    TO 
MISSIONS. 

There  is  a  prolonged  and  perhaps  hopeless  controversy  be- 
tween Christian  writers,  and  the  apologists  of  heath  en  systems, 
in  regard  to  the  merits  of  Buddhism  as  compared  with  Christian- 
ity. No  form  of  opposition  to  the  truth  seems  more  plausible 
or  difficult  for  the  mass  of  Christians  to  meet,  than  the  assump- 
tion of  superior  wisdom  and  virtue  in  some  ancient  system  of 
error.     Mo.st  jscople  know  little  of  the  history  of  the  leading 


BUDDHISM   IN  ITS.  PRACTICAL  RELATION  TO  MISSIONS.       77 

Oriental  religions,  and  against  the  dictum  of  pretentious 
scholarship  they  can  say  little. 

They  only  know  that  the  great  heathen  world  of  to-day — 
M'hatever  the  glory  of  its  old  and  effete  wisdom — lies  in  dark- 
ness and  degradation. 

Miicli  of  the  controversy,  therefore,  in  regard  to  the  merits 
of  Buddhism,  arises  from  the  fact  that  its  advocates  have  in 
view  one  period  of  development,  while  those  who  oppose 
its  claims  are  contemplating  quite  another.  The  scholar 
writes  and  speaks  of  the  Buddhism  of  the  ancient  books.  The 
missionary  has  to  do  with  the  corrupt  systems  of  superstition, 
which  go  by  that  name  in  our  time.  In  the  teachings  of 
Gautama,  there  was  presented  a  high  ethical  standard.  His 
first  great  aim  was  to  protest  against  the  gross  idolatry  of 
Brahminism.  He  was  a  stern  reformer,  directing  his  efforts 
against  caste,  sensuality,  and  the  craft  of  a  corrupt  priesthood. 
But  the  Buddhism  of  to-day  is  loaded  with  superstitions  quite  as 
degrading  as  those  he  aimed  to  overthrow. 

The  images  of  Buddiia  all  denote  quiet  contemplation  and  sug- 
gest no  grossness;  but  the  Buddhist  temples  are  often  pantheons 
in  which  various  deities  and  saints  and  heroes,  as  well  as  devils, 
find  a  place.  And  the  reason  of  this  is,  that  in  the  conquests  of 
the  system  as  it  advanced  from  India  into  Thibet,  China,  Japan, 
Siara,  and  Burmah,  it  accepted  and  embodied  the  superstitions 
pre-existing  in  each  locality ;  and  the  particular  types  now  ex- 
isting, not  only  differ  from  the  original,  but  they  difier  widely 
from  each  other. 

What  we  have  to  do  with  then,*in  our  Christian  conquest  is 
not  so  much  the  Buddhism  of  the  ancient  books,  as  these  super- 
stitions which  we  encounter  on  the  mission  fields.  In  Thibet 
and  Siam,  where  the  system  is  allied  with  political  power,  it 
has  yet  great  vitality;  while  in  Japan,  where  it  rests  wholly  on 
its  merits  as  a  religion,  it  bears  the  evident  marks  of  feebleness 
and  decay. 

"  On  entering  China,"  says  a  prominent  and  learned  mission- 
ary,"  the  Buddhists  found  a  popular  religion,  the  chief  charac- 


78  THE    GREAT   CONQUEST 

teristics  of  which  were  serpent  .ancl  tree  worship,  together 
with  the  grand  moral  system  of  Confucianism.  They  also  found 
the  system  of  Tauism  which  had  already  descended  from  its 
sublime  height  of  philosophic  mysticism  to  an  alliance  Avith  pop- 
ular forms  of  superstition,  sorcery,  and  witchcraft.  The  Buddh- 
ists at' once  arrayed  themselves  on  the  side  of  popular  superstition 
and  Tauism,  in  02:iposition  to  Confucianism.'"  The  truth  of 
this  statement  will  impress  every  one  who  has  visited 
China  and  observed  how  thoroughly  the  Buddhism  of  the  coun- 
try is  saturated  with  the  very  lowest  and  most  puerile  super- 
stition; and  this  is  what  the  missionary  actually  encounters. 
This  haunting  and  ever-present  fear  of  witches  and  devils,  and 
the  malignant  ghosts  of  departed  enemies;  this  iDoisoned  fancy 
which  peoples  the  very  atmosphere  with  dangerous  and  inimical 
influences,  which  overshadows  all  acts  and  interests  of  life  with 
the  subtle  and  dread  mystery  of  fung  shuy,  and  consigns  the 
soul  to  the  endless  labyrinths  of  transmigration  after  death ; 
this  is  the  kind  of  Buddhism  with  which  the  Christian  philan- 
thropy of  our  time  has  to  do,  and  the  only  kind  with  which  it 
need  greatly  concern  itself. 

The  practical  observer  must  dismiss  the  savants,  with 
their  fine  enthusiasm  for  ancient  theories,  and  must  study  the 
millions  of  benighted  men  as  they  live  in  this  generation.  He 
must  look  upon  the  vast  throngs  who  undertake  pilgrimages  to 
sacred  mountains  and  rivers,  and  question  their  aims  and 
hopes.  He  must  visit  the  cities  of  the  dead,  as  at  Canton, 
where  tens  of  thousands  lie  unbgried  till  a  lucky  day  shall 
come.  He  must  listen  to  the  midnight  din  of  the  superstitious 
masses  while  they  ring  gongs  and  discharge  fireworks  to  drive 
off  evil  sj)irits.  He  must  watch  the  incantations  that  are  per- 
formed over  the  sick,  and  see  the  burial  honors  paid  to  dead 
beggars  to  propitiate  their  ghosts.  He  must  witness  the 
pampering  of  monkeys  and  doves  and  sacred  pigs,  as  a  Avork 
of  merit,  while  men  and  women  die  of  starvation  in  the 
streets.  Such  a  view  will  give  him  some  adequate  impression 
of  that  massive  conglomerate  of  superstitions  with  which  we 


BUDDHISM    IN  ITS  PRACTICAL  RELATION  TO  MISSIONS.       79 

really  have  to  do  in  extending  the  knowledge  of  God  and  Ilis 
word.  There  arc  gods  of  war,  gods  of  wealth,  gods  of  harvest, 
gods  of  the  sea,  and  gods  of  the  kitchen.  Special  prominence  is 
givcii  throughout  all  the  East  to  the  goddess  of  mercy,  and 
perhaps  nest  to  her  and  the  god  of  wealth,  the  god  of  small- 
pox receives  the  greatest  number  of  propitiatory  offerings. 
Practically,  the  worship  of  Eastern  nations,  whether  of  the 
Tauist  or  the  Buddhist,  is  either  an  attempt  to  escape  the 
thraldom  of  fear,  or  to  gain  some  mercenary  advantage  — 
either  to  evade  the  malignant  spite  of  unseen  spirits,  or  to 
drive  a  sharp  bargain  for  some  fancied  good  to  self  or  friends. 
It  has  no  element  of  love  to  God,  or  holy  aspiration  of  any 
kind.  Every  merchant  in  Canton  has  a  little  altar  in  the  door- 
posts of  his  establishment,  where  he  burns  a  few  sticks  of 
moi'uing  and  evening  incense.  This,  to  the.  apologist,  might 
seem  an  example  of  piety  worthy  of  being  held  up  for  the 
Christian's  imitation.  But  where  is  the  proof  of  piety  1 
Would  not  the  shop-keepers  of  an  American  or  European  city 
gladly  sacrifice  a  few  sticks  of  incense  if  they  believed  that  it 
would  swell  the  daily  receipts  of  their  trade?  Would  not  even 
the  places  of  most  infamous  traffic  have  also  their  smoking 
altars  by  the  door-posts  ? 

In  addition  to  the  worship  of  special  deities,  supposed  to 
preside  over  particular  vocations  or  localities,  and  the  repre- 
sentatives of  certain  attributes  named  above,  there  is  an 
extensive  system  of  hero  and  saint  worship  throughout  the 
East. 

Both  at  Canton  and  at  Hang  Chow,  one  may  find  Buddhist 
temples  in  which  five  hundred  canonized  saints,  of  life  size, 
sit  in  long,  impressive  rows,  as  objects  of  devout  worship. 
Some  of  the  temples  of  Buddhism  in  Japan  <are  filled  with 
conspicuous  images  of  military  heroes;  and  the  writer  visited 
one  costly  structure  which  was  built  expressly  for  a  pious  dfvil 
whom  the  sanctity  of  Buddha  had  converted.  The  meaning  of 
all  this  is,  that  although  Buddhism  began,  centuries  ago,  as  a 
protest  against  the  grossness  of  Hindu  idolatry,  it  practically 


80  THE    GKEAT    CONQUEST. 

finds  more  satisfaction  in  these  visible  forms  of  deified  human- 
ity than  in  the  abstract  negations  of  xsirvana.  That  much  the 
same  thing  may  be  said  of  the  lapses  of  the  liomish  aud  Greek 
churches  into  saint  worship  is  admitted;  but  we  are  now  consid- 
ering the  relations  of  Buddhism  to  Protestant,  and  not  to 
Catholic  missions.  Many  are  the  points  of  similarity  between 
Buddhism  and  Romanism.  Both  have  their  saint  worship, 
their  monastic  systems,  and  even  their  adoration  of  deified 
womanhood. 

Maurice,  in  his  able  lectures  on  religious  systems,  consid- 
ers it  well  established  that  the  Oriental  churches  borrowed 
their  ascetic  notions  from  India;  and  it  is  quite  as  certain  that 
Buddhism  has  borrowed  many  things  from  Christianity. 

It  is  the  boast  of  the  system  that  it  is  tolerant  ;  that  it  has 
never  persecuted  a  heretic  or  urged  its  doctrines  upon  men  by 
force  of  arms.  Its  method  has  been  not  to  destroy,  but  to  ab- 
sorb. It  has  thus  dealt  with  Christian  usages  as  well  as  with 
heathen  superstitions. 

The  only  difficulty  attending  this  fiict,  is  that  Buddhism 
claims  each  importation,  however  recent,  as  an  original  dogma 
taught  by  Shakyamouni  Buddha  himself 

Thus,  regarding  certain  points  of  similarity  between  Buddh- 
ism and  Christianity,  a  controversy  has  arisen  as  to  wliich 
was  the  original  and  w'hich  the  copy.  This  is  an  important 
matter. 

Let  it  be  remembered  that  the  question  is  not,  which  system 
existed  first,  but  which  was  the  first  to  hold  a  certain  doctrine. 

Thus  Buddha,  we  are  told,  came  from  heaven*  ;  was  born  of 
a  virgin  princess  ;  was  announced  by  angelic  hosts  accompanied 
by  flashes  of  lightning  ;  was  welcomed  by  an  aged  Simeon 
named  Asita,  who  examined  his  bumps,  and  foretold  his  great- 
ness ;  he  was  baptized  first  with  water,  and  afterward  with 
fire.  At  seven  years  old  (instead  of  twelve),  he  encountei'ed 
learned  doctors  and  astonished  them.  He  was  tempted  in  the 
wilderness;  but   resisting^   be  gathered   disciples   and  traveled 

*  Or  from  preexistence. 


BUDDHISM    IN  ITS  rEACTlCAL  DELATION  TO  MISSIONS.       81 

about  with  them,  preaching  in  the  open  air.  He  was  transfigured 
on  a  raoLintain  ;  he  desctncled  into  hell ;  and  in  presence  of  his 
disciples  he  was  translated  into  glory.  So  far,  the  parallel 
with  CUV  Saviour's  history  is  very  significant.  But  lie  ditlVred  in 
other  points.  He  was  a  great  gymnast  in  his  boyhood,  and 
threw  an  elephant  to  a  great  distance.  His  miracles,  instead 
of  being  useful  to  men,  were  fiintastic  and  grotesque.  He 
married,  and  had  a  zenana,  in  which  he  sufFored  greater  temp- 
tations than  in  the  wilderness.  He  was  not  crucified. 
Worst  of  all  for  these  legends,  they  diifer  in  toto  from 
other  accounts,  which  represent  him  as  a  grown-up  prince  sick- 
ening with  the  luxury  and  intrigue  of  a  palace,  and  fleeing  from 
society  as  a  morbid  misanthrope,  and  finally  coming  forth  to 
teach  men  that  human  life  with  all  its  belongings  is  a  calamity 
to  be  remedied  only  by  the  victory  of  sublime  indifference. 

"And  yet,"  says  Dr.  Eitel,  of  Hong-Kong,  "  this  Buddha 
lived  and  died  543  years  befure  Christ.  Are  we  to  conclude, 
then,  that  Christ — as  a  certain  sceptic  would  make  us  believe — 
went  to  India  during  the  eighteen  years  which  intervened  be- 
tween his  youth  and  manhood,  and  returned,  thirty  years  old, 
to  ape  and  reproduce  the  life  and  doings  of  Shakyamouni 
Buddha?     .... 

"  Unfortunately  for  the  sceptic  Avho  would  delight  in 
proving  Christ  to  have  been  the  ape  of  Buddha,  it  can  be 
proved,  that  almost  every  single  tint  of  this  Cliristian  coloring 
which  Buddhist  tradition  gives  to  the  life  of  Buddha  is  of  com- 
paratively modern  origin.  There  is  not  a  single  Buddhist 
manuscript  in  existence  which  could  vie  in  antiquity  and 
undoubted  authenticity  with  the  oldest  codices  of  the  gospels. 
Besides,  the  most  eminent  Buddhistic  classics  contain  scarcely 
any  details  of  Buddha's  life,  and  none  whatever  of  the  pecul- 
iarly Christian  characteristics.  Nearly  all  the  legends  which 
claim  to  refer  to  events  that  happened  many  centuries  beforo 
Christ,  cannot  be  proved  to  have  been  in  circulation  earlier  than 
the  fifth  or  sixth  century  after  Christ.     Moreover,  it  is  easy  to 


82  THE    GREAT    CONQUEST. 

point  out  the  precise  source  from  which  these  apparently 
Christian  elements  flowed  into  and  mingled  with  Buddhistic 
traditions." 

The  doctrines  of  Buddha  appear  to  have  been  handed  down 
from  generation  to  generation  orally  ;  and,  of  course,  they  under- 
went considerable  alterations  in  passing  from  mouth  to  mouth. 
Naturally,  also,  heresies  sprang  up  here  and  there,  for  the 
putting  down  of  which  again  and  again  cecuraenic  councils  were 
held  to  re-establish  the  orthodox  doctrines  in  opposition  to 
heretical  adulterations. 

"But,"  says  the  same  author,  "no  reliable  information  exists 
as  to  the  extent  and  character  of  the  Buddhist  scriptures,  said  to 
have  been  finally  revised  by  the  council  under  Kaniokka,  who 
reigned  from  15  B.C.  to  45  a.d.  The  very  earliest  compilation 
of  the  modern  Buddhist  canon  that  history  can  point  out,  is 
that  of  Ceylon.  But  the  canon  of  Ceylon  was  handed  down 
orally  from  generation  to  generation.  Part  of  it  was  reduced 
to  writing  about  93  b.c.  The  whole  canon,  however,  was  first 
compiled  and  fixed  in  writing  between  the  years  41^  and  432 
of  our  present  Christian  era." 

It  is  easy  to  see  how  Buddhism,"  ever  true  to  its  eclectic  in- 
stincts," may  have  borrowed  from  Christianity  in  the  South, 
where  the  "  St.  Thomas  Christians  "  of  Southern  India  give 
evidence  of  a  very  early  introduction  of  the  gospel.  At  the 
same  time  Nestorian  missionaries  had  reached  Central  Asia, 
where  their  nobler  doctrines  and  more  imposing  ritual  created 
a  deep  impression,  and  were  doubtless  copied. 

The  Nestorians  were  finally  extirpated  ;  but  in  the  snow- 
bound monasteries  of  Thibet  is  still  found  an  almost  exact 
counterpart  of  the  monasticism  of  the  early  periods  of  the 
Christian  Church. 

The  assumption  on  the  contrary,  that  Christianity  is  the 
copyist,  is  absurd  ;  since  its  canon  and  ritual  were  a  growth, 
all  of  whose  stages  proceeded  under  the  scrutinizing  eye  of  his- 
tory and  criticism.  It  is  admitted  that  the  Church  in  the 
Roman  Empire  was  influenced  in  its  forms  by  the  surrounding 


BUDDHISM    IN  ITS  PKACTICAL  RELATION  TO  MISSIONS.       83 

paganism  ;  but  this  accommodation  was  recognizecl,  while  not 
even  the  bitterest  of  the  early  assailants  of  Christianity  ever 
hinted  that  the  Gospel  history  was  borrowed  from  Buddhism. 

The  Buddhist  traditions  have  passed  no  such  ordeal ;  they 
cannot  establish  the  fact  of  an  early  historic  canon  ;  it  is  their 
fixed  habit  to  borrow  ;  they  have  received  tiic  admixtures  of 
all  other  systems  ;  and  a  strong-  presumption  favors  the  idea 
that  they  have  enriched  their  legends  from  the  gospel  history. 

But  there  is  another  line  of  proof  derived  from  the  con- 
flicting accounts  given  by  Buddhists  themselves  of  the  early 
life  of  Gautama. 

The  late  king  of  Siam,  who  had  been  for  years  a  Buddhist 
priest  of  no  ordinary  intelligence,  and  who,  even  on  his  throne, 
gave  much  time  to  study,  informs  us  that  "  Buddha  was  a  man 
who  came  into  being  hy  ordinary  generation ;  that  he  was  a 
most  extraordinary  man,  more  wonderful  and  mysterious  than 
all  heavenly  beings,  that  he  reigned  as  king  twenty-nine 
years,  and  then  practiced  the  most  severe  asceticism,  and  with 
the  greatest  assiduity,  for  a  period  of  six  years,  when  his 
mind  became  so  sublimated  and  refined  that  he  habitually  num- 
bered and  measured  every  thought  he  had."  In  all  this  there 
is  no  resemblance  to  the  gospel  history. 

"  The  sacred  and  historical  books  of  Ceylon,"  translated  frotn 
the  Singhalese,  and  edited  by  Edward  Upham,  M.K.A.S., 
F.S.A.,  present  the  early  history  of  Buddha  as  follows: 
"  Perceiving  that  it  was  time  to  enter  into  a  state  of  Buddha, 
etc.,  he  incarnated  in  the  Avomb  (not  of  a  virgin,  but)  of  Queen 
Mahamadewe,  wife  of  King  Sudhodana;  was  born ;  and  having 
attained  his  sixteenth  year,  was  married  to  the  Princess  Bim- 
badawe.  On  the  day  that  his  first  son  was  born,  he  abdicated 
his  royal  authority,  mounted  on  the  horse  Kalukanam,  and  at 
the  river  Nerangarauan  became  a  priest,  putting  on  the  priestly 
robe,  w'hich  was  brought  him  by  the  god  Maha-Cambahu." 

He  continued  his  priesthood  for  six  years,  living  on  char- 
ities, "and  on  the  seventh  year  he  became  Buddha,  on  Tuesday, 
the  day  of  full  moon,  in  the  month  Wasak,  at  the  course  of 


84  THE   GREAT   CONQUEST. 

the  constellation  Wesak.  after  he  had  ascended  a  throne  of 
transparent  stone,  which  sprang  np  from  the  earth." 

Some  months  afterward  he  appeared  in  the  sky,  tilling  the 
heavens  with  a  great  noise,  and,  having  covered  a  crowd  of 
devils  with  a  niist  (something  after  the  manner  of  the  Arabian 
Night's  Tales)  he  drove  them  into  banishment  on  a  certain 
island.  In  the  fifth  year  of  his  Buddhaship,  he  settled  a  fierce 
quarrel  between  two  '•  Kings  of  the  Snakes,  and  appearing  iii  the 
sky,  he  preached  a  sermon  "  to  the  contending  serpentine  armies, 
"  by  which  he  appeased  them,  and  brought  thousands  of  them 
to  a  pious  life."  In  his  labors  among  the  snakes  he  did  not  fail 
to  preach  also  to  men.  One  sermon  was  delivered  to  King 
Binsara  and  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  of  his  follow- 
ers. 

According  to  this  sacred  history,  which  comprises  three 
large  volumes  of  mythological  wonders,  Grautnma  having  lived 
twenty-nine  years  as  king,  and  forty-five  as  Buddha,  died  at  the 
age  of  seventy,  in  the  city  of  Coosinara.  There  were  present 
on  the  occasion  '•  an  innumerable  multitude  of  gods  from 
thousands  of  w-orlds,"  besides  seven  hundred  tliousand  priests. 
His  body  was  burned  with  difficulty, the  kings  having  "labored 
seven  days  to  kindle  the  fire  with  thousands  of  valuable  fans, 
but  in  vain." 

But  when  a  certain  holy  priest  came  forward  and  prostrated 
himself  before  the  body,  the  two  feet  became  luminous,  and 
the  flame  broke  forth.  It  was  a  celestial  fire,  in  which  not  even 
insects  were  consumed,  and  as  the  flames  shot  up  into  the  air, 
birds  perched  upon  them  as  upon  the  cool  branches  of  a  tree. 
In  all  these  marvelous  traditions  there  is  no  resemblance  to 
the  gospel  history. 

The  apologists  of  Buddhism  have  claimed  for  it  a  pacific 
influence  in  the  w^orld,  as  compared  with  the  bloody  Avars 
caused  by  the  Christian  faith.  It  has  doubtless  lacked  the 
moral  earnestness  that  would  fight  for  a  principle,  but  it  has  not 
gained  its  conquests  by  spiritual  powers.  It  has  been  greatly 
resisted  by  political  intrigue. 


THE  BONDAGE  AND  DEGRADATION  OF  BKAHMINISM.         85 

We  sliall  see  clsowlicie  in  this  volume  liow  Buddhism  gained 
its  successes  in  India  by  an  alliance  with  political  power. 
Tlie  same  was  true  of  its  conquests  in  China  ai  d  Thibet.  Its 
hold  upon  the  latter  country  was  not  firmly  secured  till  the 
Buddhist  metropolitan  of  Thibet  formed  an  arrangement  Avith 
the  Mongul  Emperor  of  China  in  which  the  country  was  given 
over  to  a  Chinese  protectorate,  as  the  price  of  jMongul  support 
to  the  Llama  and  the  Tibetan  priesthood.  For  three  hundred 
years  the  system  made  little  progress  in  China  proper;  but  the 
time  came  when  its  importance  in  gaining  political  influence 
over  the  Tartar  tribes  of  Central  Asia  began  to  be  recognized, 
and  it  was  then  acknowledged  as  one  of  the  State  religions  of 
the  Empire.  No  religion  known  to  mankind  has  made  larger 
use  of  secular  power  than  the  system  of  Gautama.  That  its 
successes  have  been  wonderful  none  can  deny.  Its  sway  is 
more  extensive  than  that  of  any  other  faith  of  men. 

We  have  not  attempted  to  deal  with  its  philosophy,  hut  only 
to  present  some  practical  aspects  as  related  to  mission  woik. 


XYIII. 

THE    BONDAGE    AND    DEGKADATION    OF    BKAH- 
MINISM. 

Leaving  a  scientific  treatment  to  professed  scholars,  we  pre- 
sent a  few  things  in  regard  to  Brahminism  which  should  be 
known  by  all  Christians.  Only  a  few  need  be  known  to  deter- 
mine its  character ;  but  these  are  necessary  because  frequent 
discussions  appear  which  involve  the  relation  of  the  system  to 
Christianity. 

Brahminism,  the  ancient  and  still  prevalent  religion  of  India, 
is  supposed  to  have  been  introduced  by  a  people  migrating 
from  the  North-west,  and  is  known  to  have  existed  for  at 
least  foiu'teen  centm-ies  before  the  Christian  ei-a.  Its  sacred 
books,  the  Vedas,  can  be  traced  to  about  that  period.     The 


86  THE   GREAT   CONQUEST. 

system  is,  in  one  view,  MonotheUtic.  It  speaks  of  a  "  Su- 
preme Spirit,"  who  is  perfect  in  truth,  unity,  and  happiness, 
without  bodily  form,  omnipotent,  omniscient,  all-wise,  and 
iinmortal,  "  the  creator,  preserver,  and  transformer  of  all 
thmgs."      This  is  "  Tlie  Great  One:' 

But  the  Hindus — even  the  early  Aryans  were  also  natnre- 
worshippers  and  therefore  Pantheists. 

The  Supreme  Spirit  and  the  universe  turn  out,  in  the  end, 
to  be  one  and  the  same.  He  does  not  exist  separately  from 
creation,  nor  creation  from  him.  All  matter  or  mind  ;  all 
good  or  evil,  is  but  a  part  or  an  expression  of  the  one 
supreme  and  all-pervading  deity.  The  supposed  con- 
sciousness of  individuality  in  man  is  only  a  hallucination. 
The  highest  attainment  in  the  religious  life  of  a  mortal  is  to 
discover,  and  consciously  feel,  his  oneness  with,  and  absorption 
iato,  deity.  The  Supreme  Spirit,  having  nothing  practically  to 
do  with  the  world  or  with  men,  may  be  left  out  of  the  account. 
All  practical  religion  is  concerned  with  those  inferior  gods  who 
have  produced  mankind,  and  are  to  be  feared  by  them. 

And  thus  Polytheism  appears.  Brahm  produced  Brahma, 
Vishnu,  and  Shiva.  From  Brahma  sprang  innumerable  gods  ; 
those  writers  who  love  to  be  accurate,  set  the  number  at  330,- 
000,000. 

Polytheism,  then,  is  the  real  faith  of  the  people.  There  are  no 
temples  to  the  one  god,  'Brahm.  The  three  principal  deities 
who  are  worshiped  in  India,  are  Brahma,  Vishnu,  and  Sheoa. 
The  first  is  the  educer,  the  second  the  preserver,  and  the  third 
the  destroyer.  IIow  essential  to  the  peace  of  the  world,  that 
three  deities,  with  such  attributes,  should  maintain  the  nicest 
balance  of  authority  and  be  forever  on  the  best  of  terms  ! 

But  any  one  of  these  may  have  countless  incarnations  or 
avatars.  Vishnu,  for  example,  has  existed  in  the  form  of  a 
fish,  a  boar,  and  a  tortoise,  successis'ely,  according  to  the  work 
to  be  accomplished  in  a  given  period.  He  has  also  appeared 
as  a  man,  with  a  lion's  head  and  paws;  also  as  a  dwarfed 
Brahmin,  and  as  the  Military  King — Rama,  or  Eamchundra — 


THE  BONDAGE  AND  DEGRADATION  OF  BEAHMTNISM.    87 

whose  history  and  exploits  form  the  theme  of  one  of  India's 
most  popular  epics. 

But  the  favorite  incarnation  of  Vishnu  is  that  of  Ki'ishna, 
a  deity  who  unites  the  dissoluteness  of  Bacchus  with  the  cruelty 
of  Saturn.  Infamous  in  his  own  example,  he  is  the  patron  of 
licentiousness  in  men. 

The  Hindus  say  tliat,  "  being  divine,  he  was  not  subject  to 
the  moral  laws  that  are  binding  upon  mankind  ;"  and  that 
women,  under  his  influence,  "  could  do  what  they  pleased, 
irrespective  of  any  moral  obligations  to  their  husbfinds  or  their 
families."  And  yet,  with  such  a  character,  and  such  exemp- 
tions, we  are  told  by  Lord  Elphinstone,  in  his  history  of  India, 
that "  Krishna  is  the  greatest  favorite  with  the  Hindus  of  all 
their  divinities."  Lie  adds,  that  the  sect  worshiping  this  god 
"  comprises  all  the  opulent  and  luxurious,  almost  all  the  xvomen, 
and  a  large  part  of  all  ranks  of  Indian  society."  Ward,  also, 
says,  that  "  six  jaarts  out  of  ten  of  all  Hindu  society  are  sup- 
posed to  be  worshipers  of  this  god."  Dii  Perron  says,"  The  whole 
history  of  Krishna  is  a  tissue  of  Eoman  and  Greek  obscenities, 
which,  among  fanatics  of  all  classes,  conceal  the  most  abomin- 
able enormities."  In  all  heathen  systems  the  forms  of  created 
objects  are  worshiped  ;  but  Brahminism  has  excelled  them  all 
in  monstrous  shapes.  It  has  not  been  satisfied  to  "  worship 
the  creature  more  than  the  creator,"  but  even  its  creatm-es  have 
been  caricatured.  Deformity  and  hideousness  are  the  rule;  true 
imitation  of  nature  is  the  exception. 

Doubtless  the  worship  of  animals,  as  sacred  bulls  and  apes, 
is  intimately  connected  with  the  doctrine  of  transmigration. 
Animals  are  supposed  to  be  the  abodes  of  human  souls. 
The  same  explanation  may  be  given  for  the  sacredness  of  all 
animal  life  among  Brahminists  and  Buddhists.  This  sacred- 
ness is  sometimes  used  as  an  argiuuent  for  the  superior  humani- 
ty and  compassion  of  these  idolaters,  as  compared  with  Chris- 
tian nations.  But  the  superstitious  notion,  that  the  spirit  of 
one's  own  ancestor  may  reside  in  the  worm  that  crosses  hia 
path,  affords  a  more  probable  explanation. 


OO  THE    GKEAT    CONQUEST. 

All  travelers  in  India  have  vpitucssed  with  surprise  the 
prevalence  of  animal  life  and  the  security  of  wild  beasts  ai'd 
birds  of  prey  in  the  very  fields  where  the  Indian  farmers  are 
at  wox'k.  Troops  of  huge  apes  roam  over  the  country  unmo- 
lested ;  kites  and  buzzards,  and  especially  jackalls,  are  every- 
where present ;  and  wolves  reciprocate  the  superstitious  kind- 
ness of  the  people  by  carrying  off  multitudes  of  little  children. 
Of  course  the  gods,  in  becoming  incarnate  in  animals,  may 
make  their  own  grotesque  combinations.  The  body  of  a  man, 
with  the  head  of  a  lion,  or  with  five  human  heads  and  a  dozen 
arms,  is  admissible.  Hence  the  strange  confusion  of  forms  in 
the  idols  of  India. 

The  oppressiveness  of  the  Brahminical  system  may  be  seen, 
first,  in  the  exactions  of  its  ritual.  The  code  of  Brahminism 
never  deals  with  general  principles  in  the  regulation  of  conduct, 
as  does  the  Gospel.  It  inculcates  no  such  great  central  motives 
and  sources  of  action  as  faith  and  love.  Instead  of  prescribing, 
as  Christ  did,  the  comprehensive  law  of  love  to  God  in  supreme 
degree,  and  love  to  our  neighbor  as  to  ourselves,  it  makes 
endless  petty  exactions.  "Unlike  Christianity,  which  is  all 
spirit  and  ///e?"  ^'"^ys  Dr.  Duff,  "Hinduism  is  all  letter  and 
death.''''  The  original ,  Brahma,  left  no  thinking  or  judging  to 
be  done  by  man  in  the  sphere  of  religious  duty,  but  revealed 
from  heaven  every  act  and  observance,  every  posture,  and  mo- 
tion of  the  hand,  or  turn  of  the  eye  connected  with  worship. 
A  devoted  Brahmin  must,  in  the  morning,  clean  his  teeth  witli 
a  twig  of  a  particular  tree,  uttering,  at  the  time,  a  prescribed 
prayer;  and  he  must  be  specially  careful  in  throwing  away  the 
tv/ig.  He  must  bathe  in  a  particular  kind  of  water,  and  if  it 
be  an  inferior  stream  or  fountain,  he  must  pray  the  Ganges  "to 
be  included  in  this  small  quantity  of  water,"  by  what  Koman 
Catholics  would  call  a  "  real  presence."  He  must  also  sip  the 
water,  sprinkling  it  in  prescribed  directions  and  off^iiing  certain 
prayers.  Another  of  his  morning  duties  is  to  salute  the  sun, 
which  must  be  done  with  a  lock  of  his  hair  tied  in  a  par- 
ticular way  on  the  top  of  his  head,  while  a  large  tuft  of  cusa 


THE  BONDAGE  AND  DEGRADATION  OF  BRAHMINISM.    89 

grass  is  held  in  his  left  hand,  and  three  spires  of  a  difierent 
grass  in  his  right  luuid.  He  nnist  also  be  sure  to  sip  water, 
and  with  his  wet  hands  touch  his  head,  eyes,  ears,  nose,  shoul- 
ders, breast,  and  feet.  Should  he  happen  to  sneeze  or  spit,  he 
may  not  sip  water  till  he  has  first  touched  his  right  ear.  In  the 
Ganges,  especially  amid  the  crowds  at  Benares,  or  at  the  great 
Melas  or  bathing  festivals,  this  sipping  goes  on,  however  fillhy 
the  water  may  have  become  by  the  constant  treading  of  the  multi- 
tudes. I  have  myself  seen  the  water  roiled  almost  to  a  black 
mire,  but  the  sipping  and  the  oblations  to  the  sun  continued  ; 
for  a  Hindu  knows  only  ceremonial  uncleanness,  being  utterly 
ignorant  of  what  most  men  call  filth.  But  the  laborious  ritual  has 
only  begun.  The  devout  Brahmin,  after  his  bathing  and  sipping, 
must  utter  certain  prayers  with  his  right  nostril  closed,  and  then 
others  with  the  left  nostril  closed.  He  then  draws  water  from 
his  palm  into  one  nostril  and  ojocts  it  from  the  other,  after 
which  he  casts  it  away  in  a  north-easterly  direction.  Finally, 
standing  on  one  foot  while  the  heel  of  the  other  rests  upon  his 
instep,  he  offers  the  following  prayer  to  the  sun,  which  shows 
how  near  of  kin  the  Brahmin  is  to  the  Fire-worshipper  : 

"The  rays  of  light  aimounce  the  splendid  fiery  sun,  beauti- 
fully rising  to  illuminate  the  universe.  He  rises  wonderful,  the 
eye  of  the  sun,  of  water,  and  of  fire,  the  collective  power  of  the 
gods.  He  fills  heaven,  earth,  and  sky  with  his  luminous  net; 
he  is  the  soul  of  all  that  is  fixed  or  locomotive.  That  eye  su- 
premely beneficial  rises  purely  from  the  East.  May  we  see 
him  a  hundred  years  ;  may  we  live  a  hundred  years.  May  we, 
preserved  by  the  divine  power  and  contemplating  heaven 
above  the  region  of  darkness,  approach  the  deity,  most  splen- 
did of  luminaries.  Thou  art  t^eJf -existent ;  thou  art  the  most 
excellent  ray  ;  thou  givest  effulgence,  grant  it  unto  me." 

Other  prayers  follow  in  similar  stylo. 

The  whole  life  of  a  Brahmin,  if  he  be  supposed  to  follow  his 
ritual,  is  a  slavish  round  of  petty  observances — sippings,  and 
rinsings  of  the  mouth,  changes  of  attitudes  and  of  ai)parel; 
drawings  of  lines  on  the  ground,  and  smearings  with  clay,  or 


80  THE    GKEAT   CONQUEST. 

meal,  or  cow  dung;  kindlings  of  fires  to  expel  evil  spirits  ;  shift- 
ings  of  sacred  threads  or  hallowed  dishes  ;  compoundings  of 
herbs,  and  rice,  and  fruits  ;  wreathiiigs  of  flowers,  and  repeti- 
tions of  endless  j)rayers,  and  texts  of  the  Vedas,  and  sacred 
names. 

We  have  given  only  a  saiall  portion  of  the  daily  routine,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  greater  acts  of  worship  rendered  to  particu- 
lar gods  in  the  temples.  All  acts  of  life  are  according  to  pro- 
gramme. In  marrying,  a  Brahmin  must  select  a  girl  with  neither 
too  much  nor  too  little  hair,  and  it  must  not  be  red.  She  should 
not  be  deformed  nor  talkative,  nor  afflicted  with  an  unlucky  name. 

This  holy  man  must  be  a  close  student  of  the  Vedas,  but  should 
never  read  them  with  a  sour  stomach,  nor  with  his  limbs  crossed, 
nor  with  his  feet  on  a  bench.  He  must  not  read  in  a  cc^w  pasture, 
nor  in  any  place  of  offensive  odors.  He  must  close  his  book  if 
a  dog  has  barked,  or  a  jackal  howled,  or  an  ass  has  brayed. 
He  must  never  cut  his  own  hair,  nor  bite  his  nails,  nor  step 
upon  hair  or  ashes.  He  must  not  look  at  his  wife  when  eat- 
ing, or  sneezing,  or  yawning.  He  must  not  stand  under  the 
same  tree  Avitli  idiots  or  washermen.  He  must  never  run 
when  it  rains,  nor  spit  in  a  stream  of  water,  nor  step  over 
the  tether  of  a  calf,  nor  ride  after  oxen  with  imperfect  horns  or 
ragged  tails. 

The  mind  wearies  with  the  mere  recital  of  these  endless  de- 
tails ;  but  they  are  given  in  all  their  insipid  minutias,  simply 
because  no  general  terms  can  so  well  express  the  supreme  folly 
which  they  represent.  And  these  notions  of  a  merely  ceremo- 
nial observance  have  affected  the  whole  mass  of  the  people. 
Though  living  in  squalor  and  cooking  their  food  with  burnt 
cow  dung,  they  are  almost  unapproachable  in  their  supposed 
purity. 

In  a  conference  which  I  had  with  a  company  of  native  Chris- 
tian preachers  at  Allahabad,  in  the  Winter  of  1875,  I  asked 
each  one  to  state  what  he  regarded  as  the  chief  obstacle  in  reach- 
ing Hindus  with  the  Gospel.    One  of  the  most  intelligent  gave  it 


THE  BONDAGE  AND  DEGRADATION  OF  BEAHMINISM.        91 

as  his  opinion,  that  the  greatest  of  all  hindrances  lay  in  the 
common  prejudice  and  disgust  of  the  people  at  what  they  af- 
fected to  regard  as  the  filthy  habits  of  missionaries  and  of  all 
Christian  society! 

But  Brahininisna  imposes  another  form  of  bondage  quite  as 
serious  as  that  whicli  fetters  aud  cramps  every  act  of  life. 
It  is  found  in  the  doctrine  of  transmigration.  Tliere  is,  at 
death,  no  release,  no  assured  rest  from  a  life  of  toil  and  suffer- 
ing, no  eternal  inheritance  of  peace,  but  simply  a  new  begin- 
ning of  earthly  life  in  another  form.  One  may  pass  into  the 
form  of  an  ox  or  an  ape,  if  unworthy  or  sinful  ;  but  at  best, 
even  if  he  has  gained  one  step  in  moral  attainment  as  the  result 
of  a  life  of  2>ious  endeavor,  he  has  the  advantage  of  that  step 
only.  He  may  have  a  thousand  or  even  a  million  transmigra- 
tions before  him  ere  he  shall  reach  the  goal  and  be  absorbed  into 
deity.  As  the  fakir  makes  long  pilgrimages  to  Benares  by 
measuring  his  own  lengths  along  the  dusty  road,  so  through 
ages  and  cycles  of  eternity  the  soul  may  measure  its  countless 
transmigrations,  each  gaining  one  little  inch  of  attainment  upon 
the  one  before  it.  IIow  appalling  is  such  an  outlook  !  There 
is  no  grace,  no  divine  pity,  no  special  help  from  God  for  the 
poor  plodding  spirit  which  tries,  under  such  fearful  discourage- 
ments, to  scale  the  infinite  heights  of  divine-likeness  and  final 
absorption  in  deity. 

We  have  elsewhere  alluded  to  the  oppressive  maxims  of  the 
Vedas  in  regard  to  woma  i.  In  her  future  transmigrations,  as 
well  as  in  the  dreary  bondage  of  her  earthly  life,  she  is  the 
chief  sufferer.  If  she  fails  to  burn  herself  alive  on  her  hus- 
band's funeral  pile  she  must  suffer  for  that  neglect  hereafter. 
Thus  the  Rig-Veda  declares,  that  "As  long  as  a  woman,  in  her 
successive  transmigrations,  shall  decline  burning  herself,  like  a 
faithful  wife,  in  the  same  fire  with  her  deceased  lord,  so  long 
shall  she  not  be  exempted  from  springing  again  into  life  in  tho 
body  of  some  female  animal," 

The  system  of  caste  is  another  of  the  oppressions  of  Brah- 


92  THE   GEEAT   CONQUEST. 

minism.  To  oppress  inferiors  is  natural  to  men,  but  generally 
it  is  done  in  spite  of  their  religious  maxims,  and  not  by  divine 
authority. 

But  Braliminism  is  the  very  source  of  caste.  Men  of  one 
grade  sprang,  it  is  said,  from  the  mouth  of  Brahma,  another 
from  his  breast,  another  from  his  feet.  Class  distinctions  are, 
therefore,  fixed  and  unchangeable.  Men  of  different  ranks,  under 
this  system,  are  about  as  moveless  in  their  social  relations  as 
the  types  of  a  stereotype  plate.  A  large  proportion  of  the 
aspirations,  opportunities,  joys,  and  amenities  of  life  are  cramp- 
ed and  destroyed  by  iron-bound  and  relentless  social  laws. 

Even  Brahmins  are  restricted  by  them.  Tens  of  thousands 
of  female  infants  of  high  caste  have  been  destroyed  for  fear 
that  marriages  could  not  be  contracted  in  their  own  rank. 
While,  as  for  the  lowest  caste,  the  poor  Sudras,  the  sacred 
books  declare  distinctly  that  their  place  and  end  in  life  is  to 
serve  all  the  ranks  above  them.  For  them  to  read,  or  repeat, 
or  even  willingly  hear  the  Vedas,  is  punishable  by  death. 

Of  the  cruelty  of  the  Brahminical  system  the  evidence  is  over- 
whelming. Aside  from  the  atrocities  of  the  Suttee,  the  sacri- 
fice of  children  in  the  fulfillment  of  vows  was  very  prevalent 
in  the  early  part  of  the  present  century.  Under  the  viceroy- 
alty  of  the  Marquis  of  Wellesley,  a  law  was  passed  "  declaring 
this  practice  to  be  murder,  punishable  with  death."  And  Dr. 
Buchanan,  in  speaking  of  the  law,  says  that  it  is  impossible  to 
estimate  the  number  of  human  lives  which  it  has  saved. 

The  worshipers  of  the  goddess  Kali  find  religious  warrant 
for  murders  perpetrated  in  her  honor.  It  is  by  her  sanction. 
Particularly  the  Thugs — a  sect  of  robbers,  whose  dark  deeds 
have  till  lately  been  a  terror  in  India — make  it  their  religious 
duty  to  murder  and  to  rob.  They  were  initiated  into  this  diaboli- 
cal order  with  religious  ceremonies.  The  rules  of  their  pro- 
fession are  claimed  to  be  of  divine  origin.  Their  system  is  an 
oflishoot  of  Brahmir.ism. 

Of  the  moral  aspects  of  the  Brahminical  system,  as  it  exists  at 
present,  I  might  speak  fi'om   personal  observations  made   at 


MOHAMMEDANISM   AND   CHRISTIAN   MISSIONS.  93 

Bennrcs  in  1875.  I  might  also  .adduce  tlie  testimony  of  many 
who  have  had  far  greater  opportunities  to  jiuljre  of  the  system. 
But  the  following  summary,  given  by  the  well-known  historian, 
Mr.  T.  B.  Macaulay,  who  had  spent  several  years  in  India,  will 
suffice:  " Through  the  whole  Hindu  Pantheon  you  will  look 
in  vain  for  anything  resembling  those  beautiful  and  majestic 
forms  which  stood  in  the  shrines  of  ancient  Greece.  All  is 
hideous,  grotesque,  and  ignoble.  As  this  is  of  all  superstitions 
the  most  irrational  and  the  most  inelegant,  so  is  it  of  all  super- 
stitions the  most  immoral.  Emblems  of  vice  are  objects  of 
public  worship  ;  acts  of  vice  are  acts  of  public  worship.  The 
courtesans  are  as  much  a  part  of  the  establishment  of  the  temples 
and  as  ranch  ministers  of  the  gods  as  are  the  priests.  Crimes 
against  life  and  crimes  against  property  are  not  only  permitted, 
but  enjoined  by  thi,a  odious  theology.  But  for  our  interference, 
human  victims  would  still  be  offered  to  the  Ganges,  and  the  wid, 
ow  would  still  be  laid  upon  the  funeral  piie  of  her  husband  and  be 
burned  alive  by  her  own  children.  It  is  by  the  command  and 
under  the  protection  of  one  of  the  most  powerful  goddesses 
that  the  Thugs  join  themselves  to  the  unsuspecting  traveler, 
make  friends  with  him,  slip  the  noose  around  his  neck,  plunge 
their  knives  into  his  eyes,  hide  him  in  the  earth,  and  divide  liis 
money  and  baggage." 


XIX. 

MOHAMMEDANISM  AND  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS. 

It  is  admitted  that  Mohammedanism  is  probably  the  very 
Malakoff  of  the  dark  dominion  of  error.  It  is  the  more  formid- 
able in  that  it  builds  upon  the  corner-stone  of  the  Bible. 
But  in  the  conquest  which  the  Christian  Church  is  wafrino- 
against  the  system,  two  things  are  essential :  first,  a  proper 
understanding  of  its  merits  and  demerits  ;  and  secondly,  a  strono- 
faith  in  the  divine  power  of  the  Gospel  to  overcome  it.     It  is 


94  THE    GREAT    CONQUEST. 

not  without  its  virtues.  It  is  dignified  and  reverential,  and  it 
is  far  removed  from  the  pantheism  or  the  atheism  of  the  great 
heathen  systems. 

It  is  not  the  aim  of  this  biief  chapter  to  enter  upon  a  fnnda- 
mental  discussion  of  Mohc'.mmedanism,  but  only  to  allude  to 
one  or  two  considerations  of  practical  interest  from  a  mission- 
ary point  of  view.  And  first,  the  same  distinction  must  be 
applied  to  this  system  that  we  made  with  reference  to  Buddh- 
ism. Those  who  study  its  early  history  alone  are  charmed  by 
its  wonderful  romance,  in  spite  of  the  atrocious  cruelty  of  its 
conquests.  There  is  in  tijat  history  a  vast  amount  of  material 
for  fine  writing,  and  for  this  reason  we  are  not  surprised  that 
there  are  many  apologists. 

The  earnest  protest  of  Mohammed  against  the  idolatry  of  the 
corrupt  and  effete  churches  of  the  East,  the  sublime  fanaticism 
of  Omar  and  Amruu,  the  short,  terse  creed,  borrowing  all  its 
truth  and  life  from  the  Old  Testament  Monotheism,  the 
wide-spread  and  brilliant  Saracenic  conquests,  the  learning  which 
afterward  sprang  up  at  Bagdad,  and  in  distant  Spain,  the  chiv- 
alry and  high  honor  of  such  men  as  Saladin  and  the  Indian 
Akbar — all  this  is  very  attractive,  and  even  fascinating  ;  and  he 
who  from  the  Christian  stand-point  has  been  wont  to  judge  of 
Mohammedans  too  narrowly,  as  only  impostors  and  savages,  is 
surprised  by  these  histories,  and  too  often  is  carried  at  a  bound 
to  an  opposite  extreme.  Dean  Stanley  is  doubtless  right  in  the 
opinion  that  a  fair  understanding  of  all  the  virtues  of  false  systems 
is  really  an  advantage  to  the  Mission  cause  ;  since  an  extreme  of 
narrowness  leads  to  an  extreme  of  exaggeration.  But  this 
Mohammedanism  of  history  is  not  the  Mohammedanism  which 
the  missionary  encounters  in  the  Turkish  Empire  and  through- 
out the  East.  The  system,  as  we  find  it  in  our  time,  is  not 
marshalled  for  conquest,  sweeping  from  the  arid  desert  North- 
ward, Eastward,  Southward,  and  threatening  even  "Western 
Europe.  It  is  dozing  rather  in  the  soft  luxury  of  the  bazaar  and 
the  harem.  It  has  nothing  of  the  austerity  of  the  old  heroes, 
but  is  sapping  the  very  foundations  of  all  manhoood  by  the 


MOHAMMEDANISM   AND    CHKISTIAN    MISSIONS.  U5 

vices  of  sensuality.  It  sbares  nothing  of  the  progress  of  a 
Haroun  al  Raschid,  or  of  the  Spanish  AbcLtl-Raman,  but  moves 
only  as  it  is  moved  upon  by  that  Christian  civilization  whose 
outsiJe  pressure  it  cannot  quite  resist. 

Politically,  it  is  a  system  which  degrade'j  every  people  over 
•whom  it  bears  sway.  It  is  aptly  called  a  sick  man  upheld  in 
the  mere  pantomime  of  government  by  the  policy  of  other 
powers.  The  Mohammedanism  with  which  the  missionary  has 
to  do  is  characterized  by  the  most  shocking  tyranny,  the  bit- 
terest intolerance,  and  the  most  exorbitant  taxation;  by  treach- 
ery and  fwiud  in  every  department  of  government,  from  high- 
est to  lowest;  by  resistance  to  education  and  general  ad- 
vancement ;  and  by  a  grade  of  vice  in  which  nameless  and  shock- 
ing crimes  are  well-nigh  universal. 

The  condition  of  European  Turkey  at  the  present  has  stirred 
the  sympathies  of  the  world.  Probably  no  such  list  of  oppi'es- 
sive  acts  has  ever  before  been  published  as  that  given  by  the 
Herzegovinians  in  the  declaration  of  grievances  which  they 
made  to  the  European  powers  and  to  tbs  world  during  their 
stru-igle  in  1875-70. 

With  respect  to  government  and  progress,  Egypt  may  seem 
to  be  an  exception  to  all  this;  but  Egypt  is  governed  by  a 
thorough  sceptic,  who  borrows  his  inspirations  from  Europe 
instead  of  Africa,  and  who  treats  Mohammedanism  as  only  a 
means  of  governing  an  ignorant  and  fanatical  people. 

But  it  would  not  be  safe  to  deny  that  the  system,  as  a  relig- 
ion, has,  with  all  its  corruption,  great  vitality.  One  feels  this 
when  he  sees  a  thousand  Moslems  praying  in  solemn  concert  in 
the  gi'eat  Mosque  at  Delhi.  He  feels  it  still  more  deeply  when, 
in  the  ancient  University  at  Cairo,  El  Azar,  he  sees  nearly  ten 
thousand  students  from  all  Moslem  lands  studying  the  Koran, 
that  they  may  go  forth  among  their  respective  tribes  as 
moulahs,  or  teachers  of  the  Faith. 

Of  late,  Mohammedanism  appears  to  have  borrowed  some- 
thing of  the  enterprise  and  even  the  methods  of  Christian  mis- 
sions.    Since  the  attention  of  the  world  has  been  called  by  an 


96  THE   GREAT   CONQUEST. 

American  explorer  to  a  heathen  tribe  of  Africans  at  XJgaga, 
whose  king  desires  their  instruction  in  Christianity,  a  Moslem 
Missionary  Society  has  been  formed  at  Constantinople  for  the 
purpose  of  forestalling  Christian  eflbrt,  and  winning  these  peo- 
ple to  the  Koran. 

But  this  sporadic  effort  is  exceptional  in  the  modern  history 
of  Islam,  and  is  mainly  a  measure  of  defense. 

As  a  test  of  vitality  and  final  triumph  in  the  world,  it  cannot 
be  compared  with  the  aggressions  which  are  made  by  Christian 
missions  in  all  lands.  Doubtless  considerable  progress  has  been 
made  by  Muhammedanism  among  the  fetish  worshijjers  of 
Central  Africa,  where  it  proves  to  be  a  great  improvement 
over  the  savagery  which  it  supplants. 

Its  progress  eastward  also  is  admitted.  Notwithstanding 
the  overthrow  of  its  political  power  in  the  Chinese  province  of 
Yiin  Nan,  it  is  advancing  as  a  religion  in  Central  Asia.  Still, 
judging  from  the  slight  inroads  which  it  has  made  upon  Buddh- 
ism in  all  these  past  centuries,  it  is  not  likely  in  its  old  age  to 
gain  great  conquests. 

But  even  if  Mohammedans  are  carrying  the  faith  of  the  Koran 
into  the  African  or  Asiatic  deserts  on  their  borders,  even  if  their 
system  may  be  said  to  flourish  in  those  central  and  inaccessible 
solitudes  which  experience  little  contact  with  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, and  which  still  belong  practically  to  the  dark  ages, 
what  does  all  this  weigh  in  comparison  with  the  world-wide 
aggression  and  influence  of  Christianity  ? 

Mohammedanism  has  no  power  to  push  its  advances  into 
distant  lands.  It  knows  nothing  of  those  forms  of  civilization 
which  are  molding  the  world  ;  it  borrows  no  help  from  com- 
merce ;  the  "  ships  of  Tarshish"  are  not  among  its  contributors, 
nor  shall  "  the  Isles  "  Avait  for  its  law.  While  the  Bible  has 
been  translated  into  more  than  two  hundred  languages,  the 
Koran  refuses  to  speak  through  any  but  the  Ai'abic  tongue. 
The  power  of  the  printing-press  also  is  discarded  ;  for  with 
orthodox  Moslems  it  is  sacrilege  to  press  the  name  of  Allah. 
Mohammedanism  has  no  organizing  power,  and  therefore  can- 


MOHASIMEDANISM   AND   CHRISTIAN    MISSIONS.  97 

not  adapt  itself  to  modern  agencies  of  aggression.  It  knows 
little  of  government,  and  has  never  produced  a  book  on  political 
economy. 

Nor  are  its  ethical  standards  likely  to  win  the  respect  of 
men.  The  High  Priest — the  successor  of  Mohammed — is  the 
Sultan  of  Turkey.  How  far  he  is  a  model  of  purity,  all  intelli- 
gent men  may  judge  from  his  known  reputation. 

And  yet  he  sustains  the  dignity  of  the  Caliphate  as  worthily 
as  the  average  of  modern  sultans,  and  as  well  as  Mohammed 
himself. 

But  to  the  Christian,  Mohammedanism  must  appear  not  as  a 
rival  in  conquest,  but  as  an  enemy  to  be  desti'oyed.  It  is  a 
pronounced  and  uncompromising  faith  that  is  needed.  There 
is  a  class  of  writers  who,  from  the  Broad  Church  stand-point, 
look  upon  the  system  with  that  seeming  charity  which  sees 
much  good  in  all  religions,  and  which  ascribes  special  merit  to 
Islam.  So  far  as  these  vicAvs  affect  the  Church,  they  cripple  her 
missionary  zeal. 

Mr.  R.  Bosworth  Smith,  in  a  recent  work,  sets  forth  with 
satisfiction  the  respect  which  Mohammed  and  his  most  intelli- 
gent followers  have  cherished  for  Christ. 

But  his  appreciation  of  their  respect  rests  upon  the  evident 
fact  that  he  himself  is  content  with  regarding  Christ  merely  as 
a  prophet.  He  only  differs  from  them  in  esteeming  Him 
greater  than  the  Arabian  prophet,  while  Moslems  consider  Him 
far  inferior. 

In  a  truly  Christian  view,  what  avails  such  a  belief  in  Christ  ? 
No  Moslem  regards  Him  as  the  Saviour  of  men.  They  know 
nothing  of  grace,  of  an  atonement,  of  intercession,  or  the  renew- 
ing of  the  Holy  Ghost.     Mohammed  is  the  only  Paraclete. 

They  regard  the  doctrine  of  Christ's  sonship — viewing  it 
only  with  the  coarse  conception  of  which  Moslems  are  capable 
— as  something  repulsive  and  shocking.  They  rank  among 
the  bitterest  enemies  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  they  have  no  bet- 
ter names  for  His  followers  than  "  infidels  "  or  "  Christian  dogs." 

As  to  the  salvation  of  men,  what  the  Jewish  law  failed  to  do, 


98  THE    GKEAT   CONQUEST. 

Mobammedanism  is  still  less  able  to  accompllsb.  It  is  wholly 
opposed  to  tbe  faith  of  the  Gospel,  and  if  the  world  is  to  be 
redeemed  it  must  be  totally  overthrown. 

The  author  above  named  is  far  from  suggesting  thnt  mission- 
ary effort  among  Moslems  shall  be  suspended.  Under  the  in- 
spiration of  the  broader  views  which  he  advocates,  he  says  : 
"Missionaries  wnll  not  cease  to  exist,  nor  will  they  lose  their 
energy,  their  enthusiasm,  and  their  self-sacrifice.  But  they 
will  go  to  work  in  a  diffeient  way,  will  view  other  religions  in 
a  different  light,  and  will  test  their  success  by  a  different  stand- 
ard. They  will  no  doubt  be  forced  to  acquiesce  in  what  seems 
the  will  of  Providence,  that  a  national  religion  is  as  much  a 
2iart  of  man's  nature  as  is  the  genius  of  his  language  or  the 
color  of  his  skin  ;  they  will  admit  that  the  precise  form  of  a 

creed  is  a  matter  of  prejudice  with  most  of  us,  etc The 

missionaries  of  the  future,  therefore,  will  try  to  peneti'ate  to 
the  common  elements  which  they  will  have  learned  underlie 
all  religions  alike,  and  make  the  most  of  those."     • 

It  is  evident  that  authors  whose  views  are  so  radically  sub- 
versive of  the  entire  Christian  faith,  cannot  he  safe  interpreters 
of  Mohammedanism.  So  glaring  a  misapprehension  of  the  one 
suggests  a  very  superficial  knowledge  of  the  other. 

And  yet  is  it  not  true  that  even  orthodox  Christi.^ns  some- 
times accept  authorities  in  regard  to  heathen  systems  and  mis- 
sionary operations  whom  they  would  not  admit  as  interpreters 
of  the  Christian  faith  1  that  while  the  local  interests  of  Chris- 
tianity are  carefully  guarded,  the  outposts  of  Christ's  kingdom, 
acknowledged  to  be  universal,  are  surrendered  to  the  enemy? 

There  can  be  no  truce  with  the  teachings  of  the  False  Proph- 
et. Until  the  Mohammedan  types  of  civilization  shall  have 
passed  away,  the  best  interests  of  the  nations,  even  in  a  politi- 
cal point  of  view,  cannot  be  realized,  and  the  Mohammedan 
faith  must  be  utterly  overthrown  ere  the  Redeemer's  kingdom 
can  be  established.  Though  it  should  require  a  century,  the 
Church  must  labor  on  in  faith,  accepting  no  compromise,  but 
trusting  implicitly  in  the  divine  efficacy  of  the  Gospel. 


MOHAMMEDANISM   AND   CHKI6TIAN   MISSIONS.  99 

There  is  in  the  work  of  Missions  a  great  variety  of  successes. 
Among  simple  Pagan  tribes  found  here  and  there  on  the  ji;roat 
continents  or  on  the  islands  of  the  sea,  the  seed  of  the  Word 
lias  often  taken  root  at  once  ;  while  in  nations  strongly  in- 
trenched in  the  subtle  error  of  elaborate  religious  systems,  the 
work  has  moved  more  slowly,  and  for  a  time  must  seem  mainly 
preparatory.  Mohammedans,  especially  in  the  Turkish  Empire, 
liave  scarcely  been  reached  as  yet  by  Gospel  influence.  But 
many  outposts  have  been  carried.  Decayed  Christian  sects 
dominated  by  Moslem  influence — Arminians  in  Turkey,  Greeks 
and  Maronites  in  Syria,  Nestorians  in  Persia,  and  Copts  in 
Egypt — liave  been  won  in  large  numbers  to  a  truly  evangelical 
fait"h. 

f"  Education,  which  in  Turkey  and  Syria  has  been  carried  to  so 
high  a  point  of  success,  has  done  much  to  revolutionize  society, 
and  has  made  a  deep  impression  even  upon  Moslems.  It  will 
impress  itself  more  and  more ;  it  will  overthrow  the  false 
notion  that  the  Koran  is  a  compend  of  all  knowledge  needed 
in  an  age  like  this  ;  it  will  give  greater  hcmor  and  immunity  to 
woman,  and  by  elevating  her,  will  raise  all  society  into  a  [lurer 
atmosphere,  in  which  Mohammedanism  cannot  thrive. 

The  colleges  at  Beirut  and  Constantinople  are  preparing 
men  for  a  full  fellowship  with  our  age  ;  for  a  broad  sympathy 
with  the  best  culture  of  other  lands.  Medicine  and  other 
sciences  are  being  taught,  and  the  principles  of  Christianity  are 
being  illustrated  to  the  minds  of  Moslem  students  as  well  as  to 
Greeks  and  Maronites.  Even  in  the  little  villages  of  Lebanon 
the  children  of  Moslems  are  familiarized  with  the  Bible  and  the 
catechism,  and  with  the  world-wide  harmonies  of  our  Sabbath- 
school  hymns. 

The  press  has  also  accomplished  a  great  work ;  the  school- 
book  and  the  newspaper  have,  in  connection  with  the  diplo- 
macy of  Western  Powers,  done  much  to  break  down  jirejudice, 
and  induce  a  better  spirit  of  toleration. 

But  the  great  work  in  this  department  is  the  scattering 
abroad  of  the  healing  leaves  of  the  Tree  of  Life. 


100  THE    GREAT   CONQUEST. 

Turkish  and  Armenian  Bibles  have  wrought  the  chf^nge  wit- 
nessed between  the  living  Protestant  churches  of  Turkey  and 
those  of  the  old  sects  ;  and  the  Arabic  Bible,  translated  and 
published  at  Beirut,  is  just  entering  upon  a  career  of  influence 
■which,  we  trust,  will  yet  be  felt  wherever  the  Arabic  tongue  is 
spoken  not  only,  but  wherever,  as  the  medium  of  the  Koran,  it 
is  read  or  prayed.  A  few  copies,  at  least,  from  the  Beirut 
press,  have  reached  Central  Africa,  and  one  consignment  has 
been  sent  to  the  capital  of  the  Shantung  Province,  in  Eastern 
China. 


XX. 

TRUTH  AND  ERROR  TESTED  ON  THE  SAME  SOIL. 

Max  MuiiLER  has  said  that  the  contest  for  the  moral  su- 
premacy of  the  world  lies  between  the  three  great  religious 
systems — Buddhism,  Mohammedanism,  and  Christianity. 
These  are  the  three  agressive  or  missionary  religions.  Juda- 
ism, Parseeism,  and  Brahminism  are  not,  and  never  have 
been,  aggressive.  He  assumes  great  tenacity  of  life,  and 
great  power  and  energy,  for  Mohammedanism  and  Buddhism; 
but  concludes  that  Christianity,  for  reasons  given,  must  nlti- 
mately  gain  the  supremacy  over  them.  Perhaps  the  most 
satisfactory  estimate  of  this  great  conflict  will  be  formed  by 
selecting  some  country  in  which  the  three  systems  are  found 
side  by  side,  and  in  which  the  distinctive  influence  of  each 
may  be  easily  traced. 

India  is  siich  a  country.  While  the  great  mass  of  the 
people  are  Brahminical,  and  some  of  the  mountain  tribes  are 
idolaters  of  the  grossest  kind,  there  is  an  infusion  of  Buddh- 
ist, Mohammedan,  and  Christian  influences  ;  and  it  is  ac- 
knowledged on  all  hands,  that  before  the  aggressions  of  these 
superior  systems,  Brahminism  is  gradually,  but  surely,  totter- 
in  o:  to  its  fall. 


TRUTH  AND  EREOK  TESTED  ON  THE  SAME  SOIL.  101 

Buddhism  originated  in  India  about  550  years  b.  c.  Its 
author  was  an  hereditary  prince  of  Oude,  who,  at  the  age  of 
twenty-nine  years,  left  his  father's  palace  and  retired  to  the 
jungle,  where  he  spent  six  years  in  ascetic  rigors  and  in  the 
development  of  his  system.  What  he  aimed  at  was  to  re- 
form the  grossness  of  Brahminism.  It  is  agreed,  also,  by  all 
the  Buddhistic  traditions,  that  he  became  disgusted  with  the 
women  of  his  polygamous  zenana,  and  finally  with  the  whole 
world. 

Misanthropy  and  hypochondria  gave  their  strong,  dark 
coloring  to  his  teachings.  His  moral  precepts  were  pure ; 
but  the  groundwork  on  which  he  placed  them  was  essentially 
atheistic ;  and  the  great  aim  which  he  proposed  to  men  was 
a  cowardly  retreat  from  all  the  conflicts  and,  therefore,  from 
all  the  joys  and  sorrows  of  life.  And  yet  there  w'as  a  degree 
of  power  in  even  this  morbid  system.  Especially  in  India, 
where  masses  of  men  were  surfeited  with  vice  and  well-nigh 
overcome  with  the  ennui  of  idleness  and  languor,  the  idea  of 
a  negative  rest — a  practical  release  from  existence — might 
possess  a  grim  attraction. 

For  two  centuries  Buddhism  was  mostly  confined  to  the 
countries  bordering  on  the  Ganges. 

But  in  the  political  chaos  which  followed  the  invasion  of 
Alexander  the  Great,  a  low-born  adventurer  named  Chan- 
dragupta  rose  to  power.  Being  despised  by  the  Brahmins 
on  account  of  his  low  caste,  he  avenged  himself  upon  them, 
and  at  the  same  time  strengthened  his  own  interest,  by  es- 
pousing the  cause  of  Buddhism. 

His  grandson,  Ashoka,  on  coming  to  the  throne,  united 
nearly  all  India  under  his  sceptre  ;  and  he  it  was  W'ho  organ- 
ized a  missionary  movement  by  which  Buddhism  was  ex- 
tended, not  only  throughout  his  OAvn  realm,  but  into  foreign 
lands.  His  own  son  went  as  a  missionary  (minister  jDlenipo- 
tentiai'y)  to  Ceylon,  where  through  his  influence  the  whole 
population  embraced  the  faith  of  Buddha. 

The  system,  therefore,  made  conquests,  not  by  its  own  in- 


102  THE   GEEAT   CONQUEST. 

trinsic  merit!?,  but  by  alliance  with  kingly  power.  It  was 
used  for  political  purposes.  And  it  should  be  borne  in  mind 
that  with  the  downfall  of  the  Ashoka  dynasty,  the  power  of 
Buddhism  greatly  declined.  It  had  already  become  powerless 
against  the  reviving  Brahminism,  when  the  Mohammedan  in- 
vasion came,  and  virtually  extinguished  it  everywhere  except 
in  the  remotest  provinces. 

The  Mohammedan  rule  in  India  began  about  the  middle  of 
the  tenth  century  of  the  Christian  era.  It  swept  down  upon 
India  from  the  North  and  North-west  by  force  of  arms.  It 
came  with  the  prestige  of  great  military  prowess  ;  and  some 
of  the  most  brilliant  dynasties  that  India  has  ever  known, 
were  those  that  held  their  centimes  of  power  at  Delhi  and 
Agra. 

Under  the  Mogul  Aurungzebe,  in  the  seventeenth  century, 
the  Mohammedan  sw^ay  reached  iis  greatest  extent,  including 
nearly  all  the  peninsula,  with  Cabul  on  the  west  and  Assam 
on  the  east.  For  nine  hundred  years  this  power,  with  vary- 
ing limits  and  in  greater  or  less  degree,  maintained  the  scep- 
tre in  India.-  Its  last  representative  was  completely  over- 
thrown at  the  M\  of  Delhi  in  1857. 

In  addition  to  the  prestige  and  patronage  of  the  Govern- 
ment, which  must  have  greatly  affected  all  the  leading  classes 
of  society,  the  intrinsic  superiority  of  Islam  over  Brahmin- 
ism, and  especially  the  real  power  of  its  doctrine  of  the  Divine 
Unity,  gave  it  great  advantages  for  conquest.  Surely, 
under  such  circumstances,  progress  would  seem  to  be  easy  ; 
and  our  wonder  is,  not  that  its  standards  were  joined  by  so 
many,  but  that  in  the  long  lapse  of  a  thousand  years  it  did 
not  transform  the  whole  of  India. 

The  entrance  of  Christianity  into  India  occurred  under 
very  different  circumstances.  The  East  India  Company  was 
established  a  little  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago  ; 
but  the  East  India  Company  was  not  Christianity  ;  and  when, 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  last  century,  Carey  and  Marsh- 
man    attempted,    almost    single-handed,    to    introduce  the 


TRUTH  AND  EKROR  TESTED  ON  THE  SAME  SOIL.  103 

gospel,  they  received  great  cliscouragement  from  the  Company. 
At  a  lalei-  dute  Ju'lso:i  ami  others  of  our  own  land  were 
ordered  by  the  otllcials  of  the  East  India  Company  to  leave 
the  country,  lest  their  presence  and  efforts  should  arouse  tlic 
superstitious  opposition  of  the  people,  and  seriously  threaten 
both  trade  and  political  tranquility.  So  far  from  being 
backed  by  official  power,  as  was  the  Moslem  faith  at  Delhi, 
Christianity  was  either  crippled  by  restriction,  or  scoffed  at 
and  treated  with  contempt.  It  saw  the  patronage  which  it 
might  reasonably  have  expected  from  a  nominally  Ciiristian 
power,  given  rather  to  the  popular  heathenism.  There  were 
many  honorable  exceptions  to  all  this.  Occasionally  men  like 
the  Lawrences  held  high  positions  in  the  civil  list,  and  a 
Havelock,  whose  prayers  wrought  victory,  was  at  the  head  of 
an  army.  But  such  names  were  only  exceptional.  Meanwhile 
in  India,  as  in  all  other  heathen  lands,  Christianity  encoun- 
tered a  serious  obstacle  in  the  general  adverse  influence 
exerted  by  the  social  vices  and  commercial  oppressions  of 
those  who  boasted  a  Christian  civilization.  This  terrible 
dead-Aveighi  must  always  be  considered  in  estimating  the 
real  furce  of  Christian  conquest. 

This  heavy  load  has  been  borne  preeminently  in  India 
where  the  monopolized  opium  culture,  the  ryot  tax,  and  an 
every  way  rapacious  policy,  impoverished  many  a  bountiful 
province,  while  under  the  Company's  rule. 

The  Sepoy  rebellion,  in  wdiich  even  political  sagacity  rec- 
ognized the  rebuke  of  Providence,  wrought  a  great  change; 
and  under  the  direct  auspices  of  the  British  Government  the 
work  of  Missions  has  since  made  rapid  strides.  It  is  estimated 
that  from  1851  to  1861  the  increase  of  converts  was  53  per 
cent.  ;  from  18(51  to  1871  it  was  01  per  cent.  At  this  ratio 
of  increase  it  would  require  about  a  century  and  a  half  to 
evangelize  the  entire  population  of  India. 

Buddhism,  as  we  have  seen,  has  existed  in  the  country 
nearly  twenty  five  centuries.  Some  writers  assign  to  it  a  much, 
earlier  date,  and  a   longer  career.     And  yet,  after  hav  ng 


104  THE    GREAT   CONQUEST. 

once  occupied  large  portions  of  India,  it  has  declined  instead 
of  making  ndvanceinent ;  and  now,  so  far  as  British  India  is 
concerned,  it  is  almost  entirely  limited  to  the  island  of  Ceylon, 
Nepaul  and  Burmah.  And  this,  it  must  be  remembered,  is  on 
its  own  soil,  where  it  has  had  the  advantages  of  immediate  and 
Tiniversal  contact.  It  is  as  if  Christianity  had  grappled  with 
Brahminism  for  twenty-five  centuries  in  the  heart  of  Europe, 
or  now  had  the  opportunity  of  meeting  it  hand  to  hand  for  a 
long  period  on  the  American  Continent.  Who  imagines  that 
Brahminism  could  withstand  such  a  conflict  for  even  one 
century  "? 

On  the  other  hand,  Mohammedanism  has  been  at  work  in 
India  for  nearly  a  thousand  years,  with  no  such  special  dis- 
advantages as  have  been  met  in  Christian  conquest.  And  the 
Moslem  element  in  India  to-day  numbers  something  over 
forty  millions,  or  one-sixth  of  the  population.  This  system, 
too,  instead  of  having  been  imported  from  beyond  the  sea, 
and  by  a  people  of  widely  different  social  habits,  has  enjoyed, 
like  Buddhism,  a  nearer  access. 

Moreover,  in  many  of  its  features,  it  has  fostered,  instead 
of  rebuking,  the  vices  peculiar  to  Oriental  life.  The  spirit  of 
slavery,  which  is  its  native  air,  has  sympathies  with  Brah- 
niinical  caste,  and  its  degradation  of  women  is  kindred  to 
that  which  is  taught  by  the  laws  of  Menu.  It  demands  little 
sacrifice  of  any  indulgence  dear  to  the  Brahmin,  and  only 
requires  him  to  exchange  one  form  of  pride  for  another  quite 
as  exultant ;  and  as  to  the  future,  it  places  him  at  the  head  of  a 
celestial  harem,  instead  of  being  possibly  metamorphosed  into 
a  peacock  or  a  rat.  Surely  conversion  to  such  a  system  would 
seem  to  be  easy ;  and  yet,  at  the  past  ratio,  it  Avould  require 
forty  centuries  to  win  over  India  to  the  Moslem  faith. 

For  a  long  time  past,  the  only  increase  of  Mohammedanism 
has  probably  been  that  of  natural  generation.  There  are 
fanatical  sects  of  Moslems,  some  of  which  seem  to  have  re- 
vived their  zeal  of  late ;  but  facts  are  wanting  to  show  that 
they  have  made  any  great  progress. 


TRUTH  AND  ERROR  TESTED  ON  THE  SAME  SOIL.  105 

But  in  the  comparison  which  we  have  instituted,  any 
numerical  estimate  would  fail  to  present  the  real  merits  of 
the  siihjcct.  It  is  in  more  subtle  and  dillusive  influences, 
that  Christianity  shows  its  chief  superiority.  The  truth  of 
the  Gospel  is  a  leaven  of  such  pervasive  power,  as  to  make  it- 
self felt  upon  all  the  masses  of  human  society,  even  before 
they  join  its  standard.  It  acts  through  the  avenues  of  com- 
merce and  science,  through  diplomacy  and  material  advance- 
ment. It  awakens  a  general  spirit  of  inquiry,  calls  in  the 
mighty  agencies  of  the  press,  opens  numherless  schools,  to 
which  Buddhist,  and  Brahmin,  and  Moslem  are  alike  irresist- 
ibly drawn.  It  corrects  false  theories  of  social  life,  crushes 
through  all  the  distinctions  of  caste,  opens  the  zenana 
and  the  harem,  and  raises  up  woman  to  her  true  position. 
It  breaks  down  the  barriers  of  national  prejudice  and 
exclusivism,  and  practically  demonstrates  the  unity  of  the 
race.  It  strikes  off  the  shackles  of  the  boudman,  and 
destroys  the  habitations  of  cruelty.  It  bears  in  its  right 
hand  relief  to  the  suffering  of  every  race,  and  plants  on 
all  shores  the  hospital  and  the  asylum.  What  contrasts 
in  this  respect  does  India  show  ?  What  have  Buddhism 
and  Mohammedanism,  in  all  their  long  dark  reign,  ever 
accomplished  for  degraded  and  suffering  woman  1  Where 
have  they  quenched  the  fires  of  the  suttee,  or  stayed  the  ter- 
rible ravages  of  infanticide?  What  mitigation  have  they 
ever  brought  to  the  hard  and  cruel  rigors  of  caste  which 
trode  down  the  lower  classes  to  the  very  mire  of  degradation 
and  suffering  ?  Did  these  systems,  during  the  long  ages  of 
their  supremacy,  enkindle  the  aspiration  of  the  masses  for 
education,  or  invest  them  with  the  means,  or  even  the  hope 
of  social  equality  ? 

It  is  a  point  well  put  by  Professor  S.  C.  Bartlett,  of  Chi- 
cago, that  the  splendid  Sanskrit  language  indicates  a  mag- 
nificent outstart  for  India  upon  her  long  historic  career.  It 
evidently  belongs  to  a  civilization  much  higher  than  any- 
thing which  the  later  eras  of  Indian  liistory  reveal.     It  there- 


106  THE    GREAT   CONQUEST. 

fore  rises  up  in  judgment  against  Buddhism  and  Brahminisra 
alike,  and  charges  them  with  deterioration,  instead  of  the 
advancement  of  the  countless  millions  over  Tvhom  they  have 
borne  sway. 

Yet  there  are  those  among  us  whose  antiquarian  entlm- 
siasm  finds  in  these  old  systems  much  that  is  even  superior 
to  the  Christian  faith.  Let  sucli  remember  that  while  Buddh- 
ism has  thus  wasted  its  centuries  and  cycles  of  grand  op- 
portunity in  India,  Christianity  thirteen  centuries  ago  found 
our  Saxon  ancestors  mere  savages  in  the  forests  of  Germany 
and  of  Britain  ;  and  that  out  of  their  savagery  it  wrought  the 
Christian  civilization  which  we  enjoy,  and  which  already,  in 
less  than  a  century,  has  done  more  for  India  than  any  of  her 
hoary  systems  have  accomplished  in  a  thousand,  or  even  two 
thousand,  years. 


XXI. 

SIK  BAETLE  FEERE  ON  THE  CHANGE  OF  NATIVE 
SENTIMENT  IN   INDIA. 

The  testimony  of  others  is  lai'gely  introduced  in  these  chap- 
ters, thongh  at  the  expense  of  compactness  and  symmetry  of 
style.  For  on  all  questions  in  regard  to  which  differences  of 
opinion  have  been  expressed,  the  decision  mast  be  left  to  com- 
petent witnesses  ;  and  the  testimony  of  witnesses  may  be  best 
given  in  their  own  words.  The  most  reliable  authorities  are, 
first,  those  who  have  resided  in  heathen  lands  and  who  have 
had  good  opportunities  to  judge  of  the  results  of  Mission  work. 
Compared  with  these,  hasty  travelers  who  have  depended  uj)on 
mere  rumors  are  of  less  account.  In  the  second  place,  wit- 
nesses should  be  selected  from  among  Christian  men. 

The  cause  of  Missions  is  not  on  trial  before  the  enemies  of 
the  truth  ;  and  2:)ersons  of  this  sort  should  no  more  be  re- 
garded as  authorities  on  this  subject  than  upon  questions  of 


CHANGE  OF  NATH'^E  SENTIMENT  IN  INDIA.  lOY 

doctrine,  or  order,  or  the  methods  of  Christian  work  in  the 
Church  at  home. 

Tlicu-  testimony  mi^ht  be  admitted  to  some  extent  as  ti)  the 
character  of  th^  men  employed,  but  not  upon  the  methods  or 
the  degrees  of  spiritunl  success. 

The  real  question  is,  whether  Missions  as  now  conducted  are 
accomplishing  what  the  Church  herself  ought  to  expect?  Her 
own  representatives  are  tlie  proper  judges  ;  and  if  the  uniform 
testimony  of  Christian,  laymen  resident  on  heathen  soil  com- 
mends the  work  as  successful,  this  should  be  sufficient. 

We  believe  that  it  may  bo  asserted  as  a  general  fact  that 
foreign  residents  having  real  and  vital  piety  and  an  interest  in 
Christ's  kingdom,  are  the  friends  of  JMissions,  and  that  most  of 
them  contribute  to  their  support.  They  are  not  missionaries, 
and  therefore  are  not  parties  in  the  case  ;  but,  holding  an  un- 
biased relation  between  the  Chureh  and  her  laborers,  they 
constitute  a  tribunal  worthy  of  all  trust.  Scores  of  such  men 
have  been  found  in  the  civQ  and  military  service  in  India, 
where  they  enjoyed  suj^erior  advantages  for  estimating,  the 
changes  which  have  occurred  in  the  minds  of  the  heathen. 
Conspicuous  among  these  is  Sir  Bartle  Frere.  This  distin- 
guished statesman,  so  well  known  as  a  former  Governor  of 
Bombay  and  more  recently  as  Commander  of  the  British  Ex- 
pedition to  Zanzibar,  published  a  w^ork  two  years  since  relat- 
ing to  Missions  in  India,  from  which  the  following  extracts  are 
taken . 

He  does  not  claim  that  Missionary  effort  alone  has  Vv^rought 
all  the  great  changes  that  have  occurred  ;  but  his  testimony 
is  all  the  more  valuable  because  it  is  discriminating.  It  allows 
to  the  Bible,  the  school,  the  laws,  the  stean)-engine,  and  the 
telegraph,  each  its  place,  and  counts  them  all  as  the  agencies 
of  God  in  His  great  plans. 

He  gives  great  prominence  to  the  general  leavening  influence 
of  Christianit}''  or  Christian  civilization,  even  among  those 
who  do  not  yet  acknowledge  it.  After  speaking  of  the  fact 
that  the  natives  in  each  little  village  not  only  observe,  but 


108  THE    GREAT    CONQUEST. 

discuss,  the  great  chaiigos  when  they  as^sr  ralile  for  their  evening 
gossij),  he  tlius  continues  : 

"Then,  whenever  they  stir  out  of  their  own  village  some 
evidence  meets  them  of  the  equalizing,  leveling  tendencies  of 
the  British  Go\crnment — of  its  entire  disregard  for  the  dis- 
tinctions of  caste  which  so  largely  modify  the  action  of  every 
native  administration.  'At  the  great  public  works  every  one 
gets  paid  according  to  his  work — no  one  nsks  what  is  the 
workman's  caste,  or  where  he  comes  from.  Then  what  incar- 
nations of  justice,  equity,  and  equality  are  the  ruads  and  rail- 
roads !  How  straight  they  go  1  caring  no  more  for  the  head- 
man's or  R.'ijah's  field  than  for  the  helot's  rubbish-heap  ! 
Everybody  goes  together  by  train,  the  prince  and  the  peasant — 
all  get  accommodated  according  to  what  they  pay,  without 
distinction  of  caste  or  rank,  and  all  arrive  at  the  same  time  ! 
It  is  the  same  with  their  courts  of  justice;  if  you  have  only 
money  enough  you  may  sue  anybody  you  please,  and  get  a 
decree  too,  sometimes,  and  have  it  executed  against  the 
wealthiest  banker  in  the  county  town,  (though  that  is  a  dan- 
gerous experiment,  by  no  means  to  be  recommended,  for,  after 
all,  Lukshmi,  the  goddess  of  wealth,  has  it  all  her  way  in  this 
world,  and  bankers  are  her  special  favorites).  Then,  this 
"  Lightning-post,"  what  a  wonderful  invention  it  is  !  It  excels 
even  the  railway  as  a  manifestation  of  benevolence,  justice, 
and  equality  ;  for  every  one's  message  goes  in  turn,  and  all 
for  the  same  price  per  dozen  words.' 

"  These  are  not  imaginary  conversations,  but  are  taken  from 
remarks  which  any  one  who  talks  to  this  class  of  people  may 
hear  almost  any  day  in  their  common  convei  sation. 

"Now,  this  equalizing  and  leveling  policy,  which  at  first 
was  a  great  puzzle  to  the  villagers,  seems  explained  by  what 
the  missionary  says.  He  tells  of  One  God  over  all,  of 
One  Saviour  for  all,  and  insists  that 'this  Ged  made  of  one 
blood  all  mankind,  that  there  is  no  distinction  before  Him  of 
Brahmin  or  'outsider;'  that  all  will  be  equal  in  death,  and 


CHANGE  OF  NATIVE  SENTIMENT  IN  INDIA.  109 

all  be  jaclged  by  one  rule  after  dcatli.'  'If  tlie  Sahibs  really 
believe  this,  no  wonder  all  their  doings  and  inventions  liave 
such  a  leveling  tendency.'  The  oldest  of  the  comni unity  of 
outsiders  have  never  heard  anything  of  the  kind  before,  and 
some  of  them  resolve  '  to  inquire  more  about  what  the  Padre 
says,  and,  if  possible,  make  their  children  attend  some  school 
where  they  may  learn  to  read  these  books,  which  the  Padre 
gives  so  freely,  and  which  tell  such  wonderful  things,  not  only 
of  London  and  railways,  and  the  electric  telegraph,  but  of 
the  new  heavens  and  new  earth,  in  which  dwelleth  righteous- 
ness.' 

"Perhaps  the  profoundest  impression,  though  he  says  least 
about  it,  is  made  on  the  young  Brahmin,  the  village  school- 
master, it  may  be,  or  vaccinator,  or  postmaster.  He  has  listen- 
ed almost  in  silence  to  the  discussion  among  the  village  elders. 
He  was  born  in  the  village,  and  had  been  taught  a  little  San- 
skrit by  his  father,  in  boyhood  ;  he  has  received  a  good  edu- 
cation in  his  own  language,  and  learned  enough  of  English  to 
wish  to  learn  more,  at  a  Government  school  in  the  provincial 
capital.  The  course  of  study  was  carefully  secular ;  and 
when,  as  was  constantly  the  case,  the  scholar's  inquiries  wan- 
dered into  fields  of  discussion  more  or  less  connected  with 
religion,  the  subject  was  avoided  in  a  manner  rather  calculated 
to  pique  the  inquirer's  curiosity.  But  there  was  so  much  to  be 
learned  about  the  world  and  its  history  and  affairs,  that  the 
scholar  deferred  further  inquiry,  and  at  length  returned  to  his 
village  as  a  Government  employe  in  some  department,  on  a 
salary  superior  to  all  the  hereditary  allowances  of  the  village 
magnates  put  together,  and  paid  punctually  in  cash  monthly. 
He  is  a  rich,  and  would  be  an  influential  man,  but  he  has  got 
quite  out  of  joint  with  his  old  ])layfellows  and  their  parents  ; 
he  has  in  his  heart  the  most  profound  contempt  for  all  that 
his  father,  the  bigoted  old  Shastri,  and  his  friends,  go  on  talk- 
ing about  their  gods,  and  the  silly  and  licentious  tales  of  what 
their  gods  did,  which  seem  to  him  fit  only  to  amuse  vicious 


110  THE   GREAT    CONQUEST. 

children  ;  he  is  pained  at  their  open  Avorship  of  their  hideous 
stone  and  metal  idols,  whose  legendary  acts  and  attributes 
appear  to  his  awakened  moral  sense  even  more  debased  than 
tl}eir  outward  forms. 

"  lie  has  never  been  in  the  way  of  knowing  much  dii-ectly 
about  the  religion  of  these  Sahibs,  and  is  rather  glad  when  he 
hears  tliat  the  'Dharm  Padre'  (missionary)  has  come  to  the 
village.  lie  goes  to  listen,  and,  may  be,  is  at  first  inclined  to 
treat  with  contempt  some  apparent  want  of  school  leai'ning. 
'  The  Padre '  is  evidently  not  as  profound  a  Shastri  as  his  own 
father,  nor  as  great  at  the  differential  calculus  as  the  Cam- 
bridge professor  from  whom  he  heard  lectures  at  the  '  Govern- 
ment college; '  but  as  he  listens,  one  social  or  moral  jDroblem 
after  another,  which  he  had  been  used  to  ponder  over,  and 
found  so  difficult  to  solve,  receives  new  light,  and  a  history 
of  the  world,  its  past  and  its  future,  is  revealed  to  him— so 
simple,  so  consistent,  and  so  fully  explaining  many  of  his 
doubts  and  difficulties,  that,  if  he  could  but  beHeve  it,  he  feels 
that  a  great  weight  would  be  removed  from  his  mind,  and  he 
would  be  a  happier  man. 

"In  the  simple  truths  which  the  'Dhurm  Padre'  urges  so 
earnestly,  with  no  object  but  the  personal  salvation  of  his 
hearers,  the  young  Brahmin  tainks  he  sees  the  secret  of  that 
wonderful  power  which  has  enabled  the  people  of  a  remote 
islet  in  the  Northern  Seas  to  subjugate  the  hundred  millions 
of  Hindostan,  with  all  its  ancient  arts,  civilization,  and  ele- 
ments of  wealth  and  power.  .The  few  short  sentences  regard- 
ing the  unity  and  brotlicrhood  of  mankind — the  responsibility 
of  all,  Emperor  as  well  as  peasant,  to  One  God,  of  infinite 
power,  justice,  and  mercy — seem  to  him  to  form  the  talisman 
of  that  mysterious  success  which  is  daily  working  siach  miia- 
cies  before  his  eyes.  If  his  own  race,  so  rich  in  the  accumu- 
lated intellectual  pov/er  of  many  nations  and  many  centuries, 
could  only  believe  and  learn  this  wonderful  secret,  what  a  fu- 
ture might  yet  be  in  store  for  India  and  her  children  " 


CHANGE  OF  POLICY  IN  THE  INDIAN  GOVEENMENT.         Ill 


XXII. 

THE  GKEAT  CHANGE  IN  THE  POLICY  OF  THE 
INDIAN  GOVERNMENT. 

To  those  who  are  familiar  with  the  early  history  of  Missions 
in  India,  and  who  have  been  pained  at  the  obstacles  which 
were  at  first  imposed,  not  merely  by  the  licathen,  but  by  the 
East  India  Company,  the  representative  of  a  nominally 
Christian  nation,  the  present  state  of  sentiment  in  high  official 
circles  seems  little  less  than  miraculous.  For  the  first  few 
years — indeed,  up  to  the  revision  of  the  Company's  Charter 
in  1813,  at  which  time  the  clause  excluding  religion  and  educa- 
tion was  stricken  out — the  heaviest  burden  that  English  and 
American  missionaries  had  to  bear  was  the  hostility  of  the 
Govtrumcnt.  Harriett  New^ell,  driven  forth  into  fatal  ex- 
posure and  hardship  from  Calcutta,  was  a  martyr,  not  to  the 
mission  cause,  but  to  the  brutality  of  a  mammon-loving  corpo- 
ration bearing  in  one  sense  the  Christian  name. 

And  long  after  the  revision  of  the  charter,  the  Provincial 
Government  of  India,  with  noble  exceptions,  threw  its  in- 
fluence onto  the  side  of  heathenism  and  against  Christianity. 
The  degree  of  ofl[icial  sympathy  with  the  popular  idol«,try  may 
be  judged  by  the  following  facts,  which  are  vouched  for  by 
Dr.  Mullens,  of  the  London  Society  : 

"  When  the  temples  in  Tranquebar  and  Tanjore  had  begun  to 
decline  through  the  preaching  of.lhe  missionaries,  the  Govern- 
ment of  Madras  took  them  under  its  own  protection,  ap- 
pointed priests,  made  public  and  ostentatious  gifts,  and  super- 
intended the  disbursement  of  the  sacred  funds,  and  thus 
revived  Hinduism  !  It  became  trustee  of  the  Pagoda  lands, 
and  in  time  of  drought  paid  the  Brahmiuical  priests  to  pray 
for  rain.  Eui'opean  officers  saluted  the  idols  and,  by  Govern- 
ment authority,  compelled  the  natives. to  draw  the  car  of  Jug- 
gernauth,  and  ordered  them  whipped  by  native  officials  if 
they  refused.     More  than  eight  thousand  temples  with  their 


112  THE   GKEAT   CONQUEST. 

estates  were  managed  by  the  Government  in  the  Madras 
Presidency,  and  in  the  year  1852,  five  years  before  the  mutiny, 
$3,750,000  were  paid  from  the  public  treasury  '  for  repairs  of 
temples,  f(>r  new  idols  and  idol-cars,  for  priests,  musicianB, 
painters,  watchmen,  and  dancing-women.'  The  same  authority 
states  that  in  Ceylon  all  the  chief  Buddhist  priests  were  ap- 
pointed by  Government,  and  exj^enses  for  '  devil  dancing,' 
continued  at  Kandy  for  seven  days,  were  paid  per  voucher 
'  For  her  Majesty's  Service.'  " 

The  Government  of  India  continued  to  affnrd  more  or  less 
support  to  idolatry  and  more  or  less  obstruction  to  the  work 
of  Missions  till  the  great  mutiny  in  1857.  "  Caste,"  says  Dr. 
Anderson  in  his "  Foreign  Missions,"  "  was  the  last  iilol 
in  India  which  the  English  rulers  ceased  to  dread.  Its  terror 
lay  mainly  in  the  Sepoy  army  of  some  two  or  three  hundred 
thousand,  which  they  could  not  trust  and  did  not  know 
how  to  disband.  At  length  this  great  native  army  rebelled 
and  made  v^'ar  alike  upon  English  rulers  and  native  Chris- 
tians. 

"  Everywhere  English  dwellings  were  burned  down,  and  the 
bodies  of  more  than  fifteen  hundred  English  men  and  wouien, 
many  of  rank  and  culture,  'lay  unburied  upon  the  wastes,  the 
food  of  dogs  and  jackals  and  of  foul  birds  of  prey ;  and  riot, 
plunder,  and  mxirder  strode  wildly  over  the  land.' 

'•  Yet  this  storm,  after  it  had  passed,  was  found  to  have  been 
a  rich  blessing,  though  terribly  disguised.  The  Sepoy  army 
had  been  disbanded,  caste  was  no  longer  a  terror,  the  Moslem 
power  was  broken. " 

But  a  still  more  important  lesson  had  been  learned  :  Not 
only  the  missionaries,  but  the  Government  itself,  had  come  to 
place  a  new  value  upon  the  character  of  the  native  converts. 
While  the  pampered  Hindus  and  Mohammedans  had  rebelled, 
the  despised  native  Christians  had  proved  themselves  loyal. 
Not  onl)  had  they  been  constant  in  their  faith — for  out  of 
two  thousand  only  six  persons  apostatized — but  they  had 
on  all  occasions  taken  the  side  of  the  English.     Many  were 


CHANGE  OF  POLICY  IN  THE  INDIAN  GOVERNMENT.  113 

the  instances  in  Avhich  vnluable  lives  had  been  saved  through 
"Warnings  or  assistance  from  Ihcni. 

Previous  to  the  Mutiny,  the  Government  had  indfornily 
discriminated  in  favor  of  heathen  or  Moslem  subjects  in  its 
official  patronage.  A  native  Christian  applicant  for  any 
position  "was  uniformly  rpjectcd,ho"wever  worthy  he  might  be. 
Thus  his  faith  cost  him  not  only  the  bitter  persecution  of  his 
countrymen,  but  virtually  that  of  Englishmen  as  well. 

How  far  all  this  was  changed  after  the  rebellion,  Avill  be 
seen  from  the  following  official  order,  which  was  made  by 
Sir  John  Lawrence,  Lieut.-Governor  of  the  Punjaub,  and 
afterwards  Governor-General  of  India.  We  quote  it  as 
recorded  in  Dr.  Butler's  "Land  of  the  Veda": 

"The  sufferings  and  trials  which  the  Almighty  has  permit- 
ted to  come  upon  His  people  in  this  land,  though  dark  and 
my.sterious  to  us,  will  assuredly  end  in  His  glory.  The  fol- 
lowers of  Christ  will  now,  I  believe,  be  induced  to  come  for- 
ward and  advance  the  interests  of  His  kingdom.  The  system 
of  caste  can  no  longer  be  permitted  to  rule  in  our  service. 
Soldiers  and  Government  servants  of  every  class  must  be 
entei'tained  for  their  merits,  irrespective  of  creed,  class,  or 
caste. 

"  The  native  Christians  as  a  body  have,  with  rare  exceptions, 
been  set  aside.  I  know  not  one  in  the  Punjaub,  to  our  dis- 
grace be  it  said,  in  any  employment  under  Government. 
But  a  change  has  come,  and  I  believe  there  are  few  who  will 
not  eagerly  employ  those  of  the  Christians  who  are  compe- 
tent to  fill  appointments." 

"  A  short  time  alter  the  issue  of  the  above  order,"  says  Dr. 
Butler,  "Sir  Robert  Montgomery,  ruler  of  Oude,  publi-hed  a 
similar  paper,  and  other  officials  did  the  same. 

"  Merchants  and  traders  also  employed  the  native  Chris- 
tians, for  they  saw  that  they  could  be  trusted." 

This  was  a  grand  testimony  from  the  highest  sources  to  the 
character  which  Christianity  had  imparted  to  the  natives.  It 
was  really  a  social  revolution,  which,  so  far  as  the  Govern- 


114  THE    GREAT    CONQUEST. 

ment  was  concerned,  raised  native  Christians  in  India  to  a 
full  share  in  those  privileges  from  which  they  had  been  de- 
barred. Now,  the  whok  work  of  Missions  has  not  only  tho 
respect  and  approval  of  the  authorities,  but  also  its  substan- 
tial assistance  in  the  protection  of  all  its  rights,  and  in  liberal 
grants  in  aid.  There  is  probably  no  Protestant  Government 
in  the  world  more  favorable  to  the  interests  of  religion  than 
that  of  India, 

On  the  same  subject  we  add  the  folloAving  testimony,  given 
in  an  address  made  by  Sir  William  Temple,  Lieut. -Governor 
of  Bengal,  at  the  anniversary  of  Serampore  College  in  1S74  : 
"  When  the  founders  of  this  Mission  first  came  to  India,  the 
country  was  in  a  very  unsettled  and  excitable  state.  The 
iact  of  Christianity  being  preached  caused  great  distrust  and 
suspicion  in  the  minds  of  the  natives  ;  it  caused  even  a  certain 
amount  of  political  trouble  and  disaffection.  Tiie  Govern- 
ment of  that  day,  rightly  or  wrongly,  took  the  alarm  and 
threatened  to  deport  the  missionaries.  Sometimes  the  mis- 
sionaries were  vi;sited  with  pains  and  penalties  ;  sometimes 
they  were  hauled  before  the  judges  and  dragged  into  police 
courts;  sometimes  surrounded  by  angry  and  tumultuous 
mobs  ;  some  of  them  even  suffered  shipwreck  ;  others  lived  in 
jungles  in  a  state  of  want  and  misery,  where  they  were  found 
with  scarcely  sufficient  jDrovision  remaining  for  their  suste- 
nance. But  time  rolls  on,  and  the  aspect  of  the  country  is 
changed.  The  Government  now  no  longer  fears  that  dis- 
turbances Avill  arise  from  proclaiming  and  preaching  the  gos- 
pel of  peace ;  the  natives  themselves  seem  no  longer  to 
regard  missionaries  with  distrust,  and  indeed,  as  an  impartial 
observer  traveling  through  Bengal,  it  seems  to  me  that  the 
missionaries  are  absolutely  popular.  If  I  go  to  the  large 
cities,  I  see  schools  and  colleges  which  belong  to  the  various 
Chiistian  Missions,  which  may  not,  indeed,  equal  the  Govern- 
ment institutions  in- strength  and  resourci'S,  but  which  fully 
equal  them  in  popularity.  In  the  intei'ior  of  the  country, 
among  the  villages,  I  find  missionary  institutions  established 


CHANGE  OF  POLICY  IN  THE  INDIAN  GOVERNMENT.        115 

in  almost  all  parts  of  Bengal.  The  missionaries  appear  to  be 
regarded  by  their  rustic  neighbors  with  respect,  I  may  say 
almost  with  aftection.  They  are  consulted  by  their  neighbors 
— by  their  poor  ignorant  rural  neighbors — in  every  difficulty 
and  every  trouble,  and  seem  to  be  regarded  by  them  as  their 
best  and  truest  friends." 

But  perhaps  the  most  important  official  testimony  to  the 
value  of  Missions  is  that  which  was  reported  by  the  Indian 
Government  to  the  Biitish  Parliament  in  1872.  The  London 
Record  of  October  10,  1873,  says  of  the  report :  "It  contains 
some  of  the  most  striking  testimonies  to  the  progress  and 
efficacy  of  Missions  that  we  have  ever  seen." 

The  following  extracts  are  taken  from  the  official  docu- 
ment. In  reference  to  the  friendly  co-operation  of  mission- 
aries it  says  : 

"School-books,  translations  of  the  Scriptures,  and  relig- 
ious works,  prepared  by  various  Missions,  are  used  in  common  ; 
and  helps  and  i:iiprovements  secured  by  one  Mission  are 
freely  placed  at  the  command  of  all.  The  large  body  of  mis- 
sionaries resident  in  each  of  the  presidency  towns  form  Mis- 
sionary Conferences,  hold  periodic  meetings,  and  act  together 
on  public  matters.  They  have  frequently  addressed  the  In- 
dian Government  on  important  social  questions,  involving  the 
w^elfare  of  the  native  community,  and  have  suggested  valu- 
able improvements  in  existing  laws.  During  the  past  twenty 
years,  on  five  occasions,  general  conferences  have  been  held 
for  mutual  consultation  respecting  their  missionary  work." 

As  to  the  agency  of  the  press,  the  Report  continues  : 

"  The  Mission  presses  in  India  are  twenty-five  in  number. 
During  the  ten  years  between  1852  and  1862,  they  issued 
1,631,940  copies  of  the  Scriptures,  chiefly  single  books  ;  and 
8,601,033  tracts,  school-books,  and  books  for  general  circula- 
tion. During  the  ten  years  between  18G2  and  1872,  they  is- 
sued 3,410  new  works  in  thirty  languages  ;  and  circulated 
1,315,503  copies  of  books  of  Scripture ;  2,375,040  school 
books  ;  and  8,750,129  Christian  books  and  tracts.     Last  year 


116  THE   GREAT    CONQUEST. 

two  valuable  works  were  brought  to  completion — the  revision 
of  the  Bengali  Bible,  and  the  first  publication  of  the  entire 
Bible  in  Sanskrit.  Both  were  the  work  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wen- 
ger,  of  the  Baptist  Mission  in  Calcutta. 

"In  1852  the  entire  number  of  Protestant  native  converts 
in  India,  Biirmah,  and  Ceylon,  amounted  to  22,400  communi- 
cants, in  a  community  of  128,000  native  Christians  of  all 
ages.  In  1862  the  communicants  were  49,688,  and  the  native 
Christians  were  213,182.  In  1872  the  communicants  were 
78,494,  and  the  converts,  young  and  old,  numbered  318,763. 

"  But  the  missionaries  in  India  hold  the  opinion  that  the 
winning  of  these  converts,  whether  in  the  cities  or  in  the 
open  country,  is  but  a  small  portion  of  the  beneficial  results 
which  have  sprung  from  their  labors.  No  statistics  can  give 
a  fair  view  of  all  that  they  have  done.  They  consider  that  their 
distinctive  teaching,  now  applied  to  the  country  for  many 
years,  has  powerfully  aflected  the  entire  population.  The 
moral  tone  of  their  preaching  is  recognized  and  highly  ap- 
proved by  multitudes  who  do  not  follow  them  as  converts. 
The  various  lessons  which  they  inculcate  have  given  to  the 
peo2:»le  at  large  new  ideas,  not  only  on  purely  religious  ques- 
tions, but  on  the  nature  of  evil,  the  obligations  of  law,  and 
the  motives  by  Avhich  human  conduct  should  be  regulated. 
Insensibly  a  higher  standard  of  moral  conduct  is  becoming 
familiar  to  the  people,  especially  to  the  young,  which  has  been 
set  before  them  not  merely  by  public  teaching,  but  by  the 
millions  of  printed  books  and  tracts  which  are  scattered 
widely  through  the  country.  On  this  account  they  express 
no  wonder  that  the  ancient  systems  are  no  longer  defended  as 
they  once  were  i  many  doubts  are  felt  about  the  rules  of 
caste  ;  the  great  festivals  are  not  attended  by  the  vast  crowds 
of  former  years  ;  and  several  theistic  schools  have  been  grow- 
ing up  among  the  more  educated  classes,  especially  in  the 
Presidency  cities,  who  profess  to  have  no  faith  in  the  idol- 
gods  of  their  fathers.  They  consider  that  the  influences  of 
their  religious  teaching  are  assisted  and  increased  by  the 


THE  GREAT  OPENING  IN  JAPAN.  117 

example  of  the  better  portions  of  the  English  corumunity  ;  by 
the  spread  of  English  literature  and  English  education  ;  by 
the  freedom  given  to  the  press  ;  by  the  high  standard,  tone, 
and  purpose  of  Indian  legislation  ;  and  by  the  spirit  of  free- 
dom, benevolence,  and  justice  which  pervades  the  English 
rule.  And  thej^  augur  well  of  the  future  moral  progress  of 
the  native  population  of  India  from  these  signs  of  solid  ad- 
vance already  exhibited  on  every  hand,  and  gained  within  the 
brief  period  of  two  generations.  This  view  of  the  general 
influence  of  their  teaching,  and  of  the  greatness  of  the  revo- 
lution which  it  is  silently  producing,  is  not  taken  by  mission 
aries  only.  It  has  been  accepted  by  many  distinguished  resi- 
dents in  India  and  experienced  officers  of  the  Government ; 
and  has  been  emphatically  endorsed  by  the  high  authority  of 
Sir  Bartle  Frere.  Without  pronouncing  an  opinion  upon  the 
matter,  the  Government  of  India  cannot  but  acknowledge  the 
groat  obligation  under  which  it  is  laid  by  the  benevolent  exer- 
tions made  by  these  six  hundred  missionaries,  whose  blame- 
less example  and  self-denying  labors  are  infusing  new^  vigor 
into  the  stereotyped  life  of  the  great  populations  placed  under 
English  rule,  and  are  preparing  them  to  be  in  every  way  bet- 
ter men  and  better  citizens  of  the  great  empire  in  which  they 
dwell." 


XXIII. 

THE  GEEAT  OPENING  IN  JAPAN. 

The  recent  opaning  of  this  new  Mission  field  has  been  so 
remarkable  that  it  claims  special  no; ice.  No  one  can  visit 
Japan  without  falling  at  once  under  a  sort  of  charm.  The 
picturesque  landsc:ipes,  the  soft  chmate,  the  novel  architecture, 
the  dark  groves  and  "  high  places,"  with  their  quaint  temples, 
the  strange  costumes  and  tonsure,  and  peculiar  habits  of  life, 
the  "bird-cage"  houses  and  "ginrikishas,"  or  man-power  car- 


118  THE    GKEAT    CONQUEST. 

riages,  and  especially  tl  e  frank  and  genial  manners  of  the 
people — all  conspire  in  creating  a  deep  interest.  Every 
traveler  leaves  the  country  with  a  degree  of  reluctance,  and 
promises  himself  a  return  at  some  future  day. 

Japan  is  new  to  us,  though  very  old  in  its  own  proud  record. 
It  has  sprung  into  notice  like  the  sudden  vision  of  a  dream, 
and  from  being  one  of  the  most  conservative  of  nations,  it  is 
fast  becoming  one  of  the  most  progressive.  The  empire  com- 
prises four  large  islands  and  a  multitude. of  smaller  ones,  and 
its  mountains  and  valleys,  bays,  capes,  promontories,  inlets, 
rivers,  and  archipelagoes  comprise  ^bmit  all  of  tliose  geographi- 
cal varieties  which  the  school-boy  finds  it  so  hard  to  master. 
Its  eastern  coast  line,  extending  between  latitudes  thirty  and 
forty-five  degrees,  corresponds  very  nearly  in  extent  and  general 
direction  to  that  of  the  United  States. 

The  country  is  generally  hilly  and  of  manifest  volcanic 
origin.  It  seems  like  the  vestiges  of  a  sunken  continent  whose 
highest  summits  and  ridges  only,  re:nain  above  the  sea  level. 
And  it  has  been  suggested  that  if  our  own  Atlantic  slope  were 
so  far  submerged  as  to  cover  the  lower  coast  levels  and  the 
Gulf  States,  with  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  valleys,  leaving  in 
view  only  the  high  ridges  of  the  Cumberland  Mountains,  the 
Blue  Ridge,  the  Alleghanies,  the  Catskills,  and  the  mountains 
of  New  England,  trending,  as  all  these  do,  in  a  general  north- 
eastern direction,  we  should  have  almost  an  exact  counterpart 
to  Japan.  The  Mississippi  Valley  Avould  correspond  to  the 
l^ellow  Sea,  and  the  Piatt  ar.d  Arkansas  rivers  emptying  into 
it  would  resemble  the  two  great  rivers  of  China. 

Japan  is  not  so  populous  as  most  other  nations  of  Eastern 
Asia,  and  there  is  no  present  need  of  emigration.  Nor  do  the 
people  show  any  disposition  to  leave  their  own  attractive  and 
much-loved  country.  The  superficial  area  of  the  empire  is 
about  one-third  greater  than  that  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland, 
and  as  there  is  about  the  same  difference  in  the  population,  the 
density  is  of  course  the  same. 

The  resources  of  Japan,  however,  are   not  nearly  so  well 


THE   GREAT   OPENING    IN   JAI'AN.  Ill) 

developed  as  those  of  Givat  Britain.  In  other  words,  its 
capacity  for  increase  of  population  is  far  greattT.  Its  favorable 
climate  and  the  great  extent  of  its  irrogiihir  coast  lines  afford 
fisheries  of  almost  inexhaustible  productiveness.  So  available 
has  this  resource  proved  to  bo,  that  a  very  large  proportion  of 
the  population  has  been  drawn  to  the  coast.  The  interior  of 
the  large  island  of  Yepso,  though  very  fertile,  is  to  a  great  ex- 
tent uncultivated.  And  in  even  the  most  populous  islands,  it 
is  said  on  good  authority  that  less  than  one-fifth  of  the  total 
area  is  made  procluclive.  The  soil  is  fertile,  and  the  climate 
has  that  union  (jf  wamuth  and  humidity  which  insures  great 
luxuriance  of  vegetation.  Two,  and  sometimes  even  three, 
crops  a  year  are  produced. 

The  great  mineral  resourcps  of  the  couiitiy  are  almost 
•wholly  undevel(ii)ed,  and  manufactures  are  in  the  most  primi- 
tive state.  Under  an  jidvanced  civilization  there  appears  no 
reason  why  Japan  might  not  sustain  a  population  of  70,000,000 
instead  of  35,000,000. 

The  people  at  present  are  industrious  and  frugal,  though,  like 
all  nations  in  warm  climates,  they  are  unblushingly  immoral. 
In  the  scantiness  and  negligence  of  their  dress,  and  in  their 
general  outward  decorum,  they  are,  or  have  been,  up  to  the 
beginning  of  the  new  era,  far  below  either  the  Chinese  or  the 
Hindus.  Ten  years  ago  the  most  obscene  and  repulsive  ob- 
jects were  exposed  everywhere  in  the  shop  windows,  and  these 
were  purchased  for  the  purposes  of  an  indecent  heathen  wor- 
ship. 

The  Japanese  are  a  short-lived  race — very  few  of  them 
exceeding  the  limit  of  forty  years.  They  have  nothing  like  the 
stamina  of  the  Chinese,  though  they  have  more  than  the  Sand- 
wich Islanders  and  the  soft  races  of  the  South  Seas.  Springing 
from  a  probable  cross  between  the  aboriginal  "  Einos  "  and  a 
Mongolian  element  from  the  Asiatic  mainland,  they  combine  in 
some  degree  the  impressibility  of  the  Pacific  Islanders,  with 
the  greater  strength  of  that  great  Noithern  line  of  races  from 
which  our  own  Caucasian  energy  was  derived.     It  is  probably 


120  THE    GREAT   CONQUEST. 

this  combination  that  I'enders  them  so  prompt  and  responsive 
in  the  acquirement  of  knowledge  and  in  the  adoption  of  im- 
provements. It  is  this  which  affords  warrant  of  a  good  degree 
of  civilization  witliin  a  very  hmited  future,  and  inspires  the 
hope  that  with  due  faithfulness  on  the  part  of  God's  people, 
Japan  may  b.^come  a  Christian  nation  within  the  life-time  of  at 
least  the  young,  who  now  contribute  to  her  evangelization. 

Some  of  the  improvements  which  have  already  been  adopted, 
and  for  a  summary  of  which  we  are  largely  indebted  to  Dr. 
Hepburn,  of  Yokohama,  are  these.: 

The  Tenno,  or  Emperor,  has  ceased  to  be  regarded  as  a 
sacred  person.  Once  imprisoned  and  helpless,  with  a  govern- 
ment administered  by  a  Tycoon  and  his  daimios,  he  has  now 
taken  the  place  rather  of  a  sensible  human  ruler,  seeking  the 
good  of  his  people. 

Constitutional  forms  of  government  have  been  adopted,  and 
Departments  of  State,  of  War,  of  the  Navy,  of  Finance,  of 
Education,  of  Postal  Regulation,  and  of  Public  Works,  have 
been  created,  in  accordance  with  the  usage  of  nations  most 
advanced.  Two  railroads  have  been  built,  and  telegraphic 
communication  is  opened  with  all  the  world.  Iron-clads  have 
been  introduced  into  the  navy  and  European  tactics  into  the 
army.  The  bow  and  arrow,  with  the  ancient  spear  and  shield, 
have  given  place  to  the  most  improved  modern  weapons.  The 
coast,  on  which  Government  and  people  would  once  have 
desired  and  promoted  the  wreck  of  any  foreign  vessel,  is  now 
studded  with  light  houses  for  the  protection  of  ships  of  all 
nations. 

Public  docks  have  been  constructed,  and  work-shops  opened, 
for  the  man\ifacture  of  steamers,  engines,  and  munitions  of 
"war.  The  Japanese  have  printing-presses,  type  foundries, 
newspapers,  dictionaries,  and  books  on  medicine,  law,  political 
economy,  natural  and  moral  philosophy,  history,  mathematics, 
and  astronomy.  A  University  has  been  established  with  a 
Normal  Department  for  the  training  of  teachers,  and  with  what 
might  be  called  a  Diplomatic  Department,  for  the  training,  in 


THE   GEEAT    OPENING   IN   JAFiVN.  121 

all  foreign  languages,  of  men  who  shall  represent  the  Goveru- 
rnent  abroad.  And  already  an  elaborate  and  advanced  system 
of  common  school  educatiDn  is  being  introduced,  with  a  view 
of  educating  the  entire  people.  A  normal  school  for  the  train- 
ing of  female  teachers  has  quite  recently  been  opened,  under 
the  special  patronage  of  the  Empress. 

Japan  has  now  a  decimal  currency,  with  her  own  mint  and 
banking  system.  She  has  also  issued,  to  some  extent,  a  jiaper 
currency,  and  has  asserted  her  high  place  among  modern  na- 
tions by  a  "respectable  national  debt."  Caste,  which  excluded 
certain  lower  chisses  from  the  equal  rights  of  citizenship,  has 
been  abolished,  and  the  abominable  custom  of  selling  or  hiring 
out  daughters  for  prostitution  has  been  suppressed  by  law. 
Alms-houses  and  hospitals  have  been  opened.  The  national 
calendar  has  been  conformed  to  that  of  Christian  nations, 
beginning  the  year  with  the  first  of  January,  and  in  the 
national  institutions  where  Christian  professors  are  employed, 
the  Sabbath  is  made  a  day  of  rest.  Very  recently  a  publish- 
ed edict  has  commended  the  day  for  national  observance. 
Post-olRces  arc  established  and  postage-stamps  are  used, 
and  postal  treaties  have  been  formed  with  foi'eign  powers. 
The  style  of  buildings  and  furniture,  of  dress,  of  wearing  the 
hair,  and  of  diet,  are  being  changed  (too  rapidly,  we  think,) 
to  the  European  standards.  It  should  be  'said,  however,  that 
these  changes  have  thus  far  been  confined  chiefly  to  the  govern- 
ment and  the  upper  classes. 

The  great  masses  of  the  poj^ulation  are  not  yet  reached  by 
them  save  to  a  very  limited  extent.  Still  the  changes  are 
now  so  well  established,  and  all  the  more  influential  classes 
are  so  fully  committed  to  them,  that  a  retrograde  need  scarcely 
be  feared.  Even  were  there  a  sudden  reactionary  movement, 
it  could  not  long  endure.  The  new  civilization  has  gained  too 
strong  a  hold.  The  march  of  the  empire  is  outward,  and  it  is 
one  of  the  felicities  of  this  age  of  easy  intercommunication 
that  the  advancement  of  a  nation  may  be  so  rapid. 

Besults  which  in  Western  Europe  required  centuries  of  hard 


122  THE   GREAT   CONQUEBT. 

and  patient  toil,  and  many  an  ensanguined  struggle,  may  be 
reached  by  Japan,  and  possibly  some  day  by  China,  through  a 
much  shorter  and  easier  process.  They  have  but  to  bori'ow  a 
civilization  already  wrought  out.  Their  work  is  only  one  of 
adaptation  and  assimilation — not  of  creation. 

In  order  to  understand  the  full  importance  of  Japan  as  a 
mission  field,  it  is  necessary  to  consider  the  general  character- 
istics of  the  people  and  their  relations  to  other  races.  It  may 
be  doubted  whether  any  other  heathen  people  now  approached 
by  missionary  effort,  are  so  teachable  as  the  Japanese,  or  so 
little  wedded  to  their  old  systems,  or  so  deeply  impressed  with 
a  conviction,  or  at  least  a  fear,  that  a  new  religion  is  to  take 
their  place.  The  government  seeks  our  Western  (or  rather 
Eastern)  civilization  without  our  Christianity — not  knowing,  as 
we  know,  that  the  one  cannot  be  fully  enjoyed  if  severed  from 
that  which  constitutes  its  very  root,  and  in  which  inheres  its 
life. 

The  common  people,  however,  do  not  observe  this  distinc- 
tion. The  government  endorsement  of  our  civilization  is  to 
them  a  presumptive  commendation  of  our  religion;  and  as 
they  see  the  one  fast  gaining  ground,  it  is  easy  for  them  to 
believe  that  the  other  will  prevail,  and  probably  ought  to  pre- 
vail. In  a  missionary  point  of  view,  it  is  impossible  to  over- 
estimate the  moral  effect  of  the  changes  which  the  government 
has  inaugurated.  If,  on  the  one  hand,  it  is  seen  that  Sintooism 
is  shaken  off  as  a  State  religion,  and  two-thirds  of  all  the 
monasteries  of  Buddhism  are  .suppressed  and  their  properties 
confiscated;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  scores  of  youth  are  sent, 
at  public  expense,  to  study  the  institutions  of  Christian  lands, 
and  all  the  fruits  of  a  Christian  civilization  are  so  eagerly  gar- 
nered; what  conclusion  can  the  people  reach  but  this :  that  the 
old  religions,  with  all  that  came  of  them,  are  worthless, 
compared  with  the  new  faith,  whose  results  have  been  so 
wonderful  and  so  well  worth  adopting?  The  Japanese  are  as 
proud  of  their  antiquity  as  are  the  Chinese  of  theirs;  but  they 
reason  differently  in  respect  to  it.     The  latter  simply  dwell 


THE   GREAT   OPENING    EST   JAPAN.  123 

upon  the  fact  that  thoy  were  highly  civilized,  while  we,  but  a 
few  centuries  ago,  were  still  rude  savages  ;  and  thoy  say,"  How, 
then,  can  we  of  the  venerated  Celestial  Empire,  learn  anything 
from  these  outside  barbarians,  who  are  but  of  yesterday  ?  "  But 
the  Japanese  look  upon  the  other  side  of  the  question,  and 
conclude  that  nations  which,  rising  in  so  short  a  time  from  bar- 
barism, have  distanced  all  the  progress  which  many  ages  have 
achieved  for  them,  must  be  animated  by  some  great  principles 
of  faith  or  philosophy  quite  worth  the  seeking. 

The  Chinese  are  cold-blooded,  conservative,  and  averse  to 
change.  The  Japanese  are  impulsive,  quick  to  reach  conclu- 
sions, and  although  ardent  lovers  of  country,  are  ever  ready  to 
adopt  whatever  shall  make  that  country  nobler  and  better. 
This  difference  is  observed  even  in  little  things.  On  all  the 
Oriental  steamers,  a  Chinaman,  however  wealthy,  takes  his 
meals  by  himself  or  with  his  own  countrymen  in  the  steerage, 
and  nothing  would  induce  him  to  drop  the  use  of  chop-sticks  ; 
while  the  Japanese  on  the  same  vessel,  invariably  take  a  saloon 
passage,  and  appear,  knife  and  fork  in  hand,  at  the  foreigner's 
table.  They  are  ambitious  to  speak  English,  and  are  very 
affable.  Japanese  students  in  this  country  always  wear  our 
style  of  dress,  and  adopt  our  tonsure;  but  the  youth  sent  hither 
by  the  Chinese  Government,  are  required  to  maintain  their 
Oriental  garb  and  the  never-failing  queue. 

In  Japan,  it  is  the /hs/i?o«  to  cultivate  whatever  is  foreign; 
and  this  general  drift  of  the  national  mind  has,  we  repeat,  a 
great  effect  upon  the  religious  attitude  of  the  people.  In  a 
recent  visit  to  that  country,  the  writer  was  most  deeply  im- 
pressed by  what  the  Government  is  unconsciously  doing  to  pre- 
pare the  way  for  the  Gospel.  One  is  filled  with  wonder  at  the 
providences  of  God,  as  he  studies  the  operation  of  these  great 
principles,  these  stupendous  changings  and  overturnings  in 
which  so  little  is  due  to  our  effort,  and  so  much  to  that  over- 
ruling Spirit  who  moves  the  hearts  of  rulers  and  of  nations. 

As  might  be  expected,  the  converts  to  the  Gospel  in  Japan 
arc,  on  the  average,  of  a  liigher  social  grade  than  those  of  most 


124  THE   GREAT   CONQUEST. 

other  lands.  The  men,  who  believe  in  the  new  order  of  things, 
and  those  also  who  were  unsettled  by  it,  are  the  first  to  receive 
the  truths  of  Christianity.  The  Samouri  class,  or  the  "Two 
Swordsmen,"  are  largely  represented  among  them — men  of 
more  than  usual  intelligence,  and  of  that  chivalric  spirit  which 
does  not  make  haste  to  turn  the  grace  of  God  into  meat  and 
drink  and  secular  gain.  They  are  more  inclined  to  help  them- 
selves than  the  average  of  converts  from  heathenism.  They 
are  capable  of  exerting  influence,  and  they  accept  fully  the 
doctrine  that  a  Gosjiel  worth  possessing  is  worth  proclaiming ; 
and  hence  a  remarkably  large  proportion  of  the  young  men 
desire  to  prepare  themselves  for  the  ministry. 

In  some  other  lands,  the  young  converts  taught  in  the 
mission-schools  have,  to  a  discouraging  degree,  been  allured  to 
business  pursuits.  Not  so  in  Japan.  Of  the  nine  male  mem- 
bers of  the  (American  Board)  mission  church  at  Kobe  a  year 
ago,  eight  wished  to  preach  the  Gospel;  and  of  the  seven  male 
members  at  Osaka,  four  expressed  the  same  desire.  The  lit- 
tle church  organized  by  Rev.  Henry  Loomis  at  Yoliohama, 
had  five  or  six  preparing  to  preach;  and  those  of  Messrs. 
Carrothers  and  Thompson  at  Tokio  (Yedo),  have  each  about 
an  equal  number;  while  in  the  older  and  larger  church  of  Rev. 
Mr.  Ballagh  at  Yokohama,  there  was  an  advanced  theological 
class  of  over  a  dozen  members.  As  a  rule,  the  men  in  the 
Japanese  churches  begin  almost  at  once  to  publish,  in  one  way 
or  another,  the  story  of  salvation. 

These  characteristics  naturally  lead  us  to  consider  the  proba- 
ble missionary  character  of  the  Japanese  in  the  years  to  come. 
The  Sandwich  Islanders  have  already  shown  what  may  be 
done,  even  by  a  "feeble  folk,"  for  the  regions  beyond.  The 
Japanese  are  far  more  energetic  and  aggressive  than  they,  and 
they  have  vastly  greater  resources.  Why,  then,  may  not  the 
traits  just  named  be  hereafter  turned  to  good  account  in  giving 
the  Gospel  to  China  ?  The  writer  was  told  by  a  missionary 
bishop  at  Ningpo,  that  this  had  been  a  fond  hope  of  his.  He 
thought  that  the  Japanese  character  favored  it,  and  added  that 


THE   GKEAT   OPENING    IN    JAPAN.  125 

the  Chinese  had  no  such  jealous  fear  of  these  near  neighbors 
and  cousins  as  of  tlie  Anglo-Saxons  and  all  Europeans.  Be- 
sides, the  Japanese  are  not  so  unlike  the  Chinese  in  their  modes 
of  thought  and  habits  of  life  as  we  are;  and  the  element  of 
sympathy,  so  important  in  religious  conquest,  would  have  far 
greater  play. 

We  have  admitted  that  the  Japanese  have  not  the  stamina  of 
the  Chinese.  Side  by  side,  on  the  same  soil,  they  could  not 
hold  their  ground.  Though  they  would  conquer,  man  for  man, 
in  hostile  encounter — for  they  have  more  of  dash  and  less  of 
cowardly  prudence — yet,  in  the  slow  and  steady  competition  of 
plodding  industry,  they  would  fall  behind.  The  Chinese,  in 
Japan  as  in  Formosa,  or  among  the  Papuans  of  the  South, 
would  conquer — not  on  the  battle-field,  but  on  the  "paddy- 
field."     They  would  prevail,  as  the  thistle  roots  out  the  clover. 

At  the  same  time,  the  Japanese  even  now  excel  them  in 
aggressive  influence.  They  have  more  enthusiasm  and  mag- 
netism. The  history  of  the  "Formosa  Difficulty"  and  its 
solution  bears  witness  to  this.  Let  us  hope,  then,  that  Christian 
ambassadors  from  Japan  will  hereafter  sail  up  the  Peiho  with 
the  same  courage  and  the  same  success  that  characterized  the 
embassy  of  the  Minister  of  State  a  year  and  a  half  ago. 

The  educational  plans  of  the  Japanese  Government  may  be 
counted  as  a  valuable  co-tfficient  of  the  Mission  cause.  No 
permanent  and  self-sustaining  religious  institutions  can  be 
established  in  any  land  without  a  basis  of  thorough  instruction. 
Immediate  results  may,  of  course,  be  gained  by  the  preaching 
of  the  Gospel  to  the  rudest  savages ;  but  too  often  these  are, 
after  a  time,  found  to  be  wayside  hearers:  there  is  not  much 
depth  of  earth.  Generally,  conscience  and  moral  sensibility 
must  be  built  up  in  the  he;;then  mind  by  slow  growth.  Tliis 
is  true  in  Japan,  where  deception  has  scarcely  been  regarded 
as  a  vice,  and  where  the  low,  ethical  standards  of  Buddhism 
have  rather  unfitted  the  mind  to  comprehend  spiritual  truth, 
by  dwai'fing  all  its  higher  capacities.  Two  processes  are  requi- 
site,   therefore  —  the    one    to     expand    and    invigorate    the 


126  THE   GREAT   CONQUEST. 

intellectual  powers;  the  other  to  elevate  and  purify  the  moral 
nature.  The  schools  of  Japan  will  accomplish  the  former, 
and  save  that  expense  to  the  Mission  work.  They  will,  at  the 
same  time,  destroy  remaining  superstition.  The  old  heathen 
systems  cannot  survive  in  the  new  era  of  education.  The 
second  process  will  depend  on  the  direct  spiritual  work  of  the 
various  missions.  And  this  work  should  be  done  promptly, 
lest  the  old  errors,  being  swept  out,  the  sevenfold  greater  evils 
of  universal  scepticism  enter  in,  and  the  last  state  be  worse  than 
the  first. 

It  is  cheering  to  think  that,  with  the  establishment  of  a 
general  school  system,  but  a  few  years  will  intervene  in  Japan 
before  we  shall  preach  the  Gospel  to  an  educated  generation; 
and  that  thousands  will  probably  be  able  to  read  the  Scriptures, 
both  in  their  own  and  in  the  English  language.  If,  meanwhile, 
the  friends  of  missions  do  their  duty,  a  large  corps  of  native 
preachers  will  have  been  raised  up  for  this  work,  with  the 
principle  of  self-support  widely  adopted.  Indeed,  one  of  the 
oldest  missionaries  on  the  field,  expi*essed  to  roe  his 
belief  that  within  twenty-five  years,  Japan  would  be  a  Chris- 
tian nation,  no  longer  needing  Foreign  Missionary  aid. 

The  general  spirit  of  progress  and  inquiry,  which  has 
already  been  alluded  to,  invites  and  encourages  the  introduction 
of  Christian  literature.  The  writings  of  sceptics  are  being 
introduced  already  from  various  sources,  and  a  strong  counter- 
effort  should  be  made  to  supply  this  interesting  people 
with  that  intellectual  and  spiritual  sustenance  which  has 
nourished  more  flivored  nations  into  strength.  It  is  rare  that 
such  a  crisis  appears  in  the  history  of  any  race.  Perhaps 
never  before  has  the  Christian  Church  been  called  to  the 
husbandry  of  a  vineyard  so  promising. 

Never  before  has  a  nation  come  so  suddenly  into  notice,  with 
so  great  capacities,  so  teachable  a  spirit,  so  eager  a  desire  for 
advancement,  and  so  great  a  readiness  to  deserve  help,  by  ear- 
nestly  helping  itself.     As   an   evidence    of    the   designed  or 


THE   GREAT   OPENESTO    IN   JAPAN.  127 

undesigned  co-operation  which  is  given  in  the  work  of  extend- 
ing a  Christian  literatiuv,  a  single  incident  may  be  given.  A 
native  publisher,  who  had  himself  observed  the  general  spirit 
of  inquiry,  ventured  to  issue  a  Christian  publication  as  a  safe 
business  enterprise.  He  selected  a  work  on  the  evidences  of 
Christianity,  written  by  R-.-v,  Dr.  Wm.  A.  P.  Martin,  of 
Peking,  employed  a  man  to  translate  it  into  Japanese,  submitted 
it  to  one  of  the  missionaries  of  tlie  Presbyterian  Board,  for  cor- 
rection, and  then  gave  it  to  the  public.  It  was  so  largely  pur- 
chased and  read,  that  he  was  afterward  encouraged  to  issue  a 
translation  of  Pilgrim's  Progress.  Like  the  Hebrew  mother 
who  was  employed  by  an  Egyptian  princess  to  nourish  her  own 
child,  the  Christian  Church  is  in  Japan  encouraged  and  assisted 
to  do  the  very  work  which  she  desires  to  accomplish.  Not  only 
is  she  asked  to  supervise  the  publication  of  her  own  literature 
at  Japanese  expense,  but  also  to  furnish  Christian  professors,  who 
shall  be  paid,  to  aid  in  promoting  the  cause  of  Christian  civili- 
zation. Hospitals,  also,  are  opened  by  native  subscriptions,  in 
which,  oven  beyond  treaty  limits,  the  Gospel  is  preached  freely. 
We  were  informed  that  seven  such  institutions  had  been  opened 
by  Dr.  Berry,  of  Kobe,  and  that,  although  the  total  cost  for  a 
year  was  about  $7,000,  nothing  was  charged  to  the  Mission. 
Surely  there  is  great  encouragement  to  labor  in  such  a  land, 
and  for  such  a  people.  We  may  say  most  confidently  to  those 
whom  the  Lord  has  blest  with  means,  that  there  is  no  better 
investment  than  to  take  a  liberal  share  in  the  evangelization 
of  this  people,  who,  even  in  our  own  time,  may,  with  God's 
blessing,  take  their  place  among  Christian  nations. 

As  w^e  glance  over  the  reports  given  by  missionaries  of 
various  Boards,  we  find  such  statements  as  these;  "Words 
cannot  be  found  to  express  the  encouraging  character  of  our 
work."  "You  would  think  me  wild  if  I  should  venture  to 
prophesy  the  future;  but  I  am  confident  that  it  will  be  some- 
thing unexampled  in  the  history  of  the  Church."  Another 
says:  "I  wish  you  knew  and  covild  enjoy  with  us  all  the  en- 


128  THE   GREAT   CONQUEST. 

couraging  features  of  our  work.  The  response  of  the  people 
in  the  matter  of  supporting  charity  hospitals  is,  so  far  as  I 
know,  unequalled  in  the  history  of  mission  enterprise."  On  a 
single  tour  made  by  a  medical  missionarj^,  $2,500  were  sub- 
scribed by  the  natives  for  hospitals.  Men  with  physical 
heahng  in  one  hand  and  the  Gospel  in  the  other-,  "  can  now  go 
anywhere  in  the  empire,"  so  the  letters  say;  "and  if  they  are 
earnest  Christians,  can  exert  an  influence  for  Christianity  such 
as  no  one  else  can  exert." 

"  I  have  been  pleased,"  says  one  letter,  "  to  see  how  readily 
the  people  fall  in  with  the  idea  of  self-support  and  self-propa- 
gation. One  of  their  aims  is  to  make  the  Church  a  Missionary 
Society,  and  I  believe  it  will  be  such  from  the  start." 

The  work  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  in  Japan  has  within 
the  last  two  years  given  full  proof  of  the  fruitfulness  of  the 
field,  in  spite  of  some  untoward  circumstances.  The  schools 
at  Yokohama  and  Tokio  have  grown  almost  beyond  precedent. 
Two  years  since,  some  of  the  larger  boys  were  taken  from  one 
of  these,  by  Rev.  Henry  Loomis,  as  the  nucleus  of  an  advanced 
school,  and  this  soon  drew  in  a  class  of  young  men,  several  of 
whom  have  been  converted,  and  some  of  whom  are  preparing 
to  preach  the  Gospel.  A  church  was  formed  soon  after, 
embracing  many  of  these  young  men,  and  it  now  numbers 
about  twenty-five.  At  Tokio  Rev.  Mr.  Carrothers  opened  a 
boys'  high  school,  charging  a  small  tuition  fee  ;  within  a  few 
weeks  fifty-six  lads  and  young  men  were  enrolled.  Religious 
instruction  was  given  freely,  and  with  blessed  results,  and 
within  three  months  a  church  was  organized,  which  finally 
numbered  over  sixty  members.  There  are  few  places  in 
heathen  lands,  or  in  our  home  communities,  where  the  Gospel 
is  received  so  readily  and  with  so  prompt  a  response  as  in 
Japan.  "A  great  dnor  and  effectual"  and  wonderful,  is 
opened  there;  and  one  would  suppose  that  multitudes,  counting 
it  a  privilege  to  live  at  such  a  time  and  with  such  opportu- 
nities, would  come  forward  with  their  ready  gifts,  and  say  to 
those  who  offer  themselves,  "Go  for  us  !     Be  our  messengers 


THE   GREAT   OPENESTG    IN   JAPAIST,  129 

and  let  us  share  your  interest  in  the  nation  that  is  literally  horn 
in  a  day.^'' 

Of  the  practical  toleration  of  the  Japanese  Government 
towards  missionaries  and  native  Christians,  there  is  no  longer 
reasons  for  serious  doubt.  "While  caution  is  still  observed, 
and  there  is  manifestly  a  remembrance  of  the  intrigues  of  the 
Jesuits  two  centuries  ago,  yet  official  or  semi-official  utterances, 
given  at  various  times,  have  declared  that  "  nothing  is  farther 
from  the  intention  of  the  Japanese  Government  than  to  punish 
its  people  on  account  of  a  diffijrence  of  religion,  unless  this  is 
followed  or  accompanied  by  a  mutinous  and  rebellious  disposi- 
tion." It  has  been  found  by  all  missionaries,  especially  within 
the  last  two  or  three  years,  that  doors  of  entrance  were  opened 
to  them  quite  as  rapidly  as  they  were  able  to  occupy. 

American  missionary  organizations  are  more  numerously 
represented  than  those  of  European  countries,  and  with  good 
reason. 

This  new  and  interesting  empire,  which  was  not  only  closed 
against  all  commercial  access,  but  was  practically  removed  (o 
the  farthest  east,  has,  by  a  revolution  in  ocean  navigation,  been 
brought  near  to  us  on  the  west. 

In  that  direction  it  has  become  the  nearest  neighbor  of  the 
American  Republic.  A  few  days'  sail  over  a  quiet  sea  connects 
Yokohama  with  our  Golden  Gate. 

An  American  squadron  had  the  honor  of  opening  the;  way 
to  commercial  and  diplomatic  intercourse;  and  what  is  most 
gratifying  of  all  is,  that  Commodore  Perry  accomplished  this 
without  firing  a  single  shot.  After  the  signing  of  treaties 
American  naval  vessels  virtually  aided  the  Government  in  sub- 
duing a  rebellious  daimio  in  one  of  the  provinces  on  the  Inland 
Sea,  but  they  never  came  into  ct)Hision  with  the  authority  of  the 
sovereign.  There  is  no  historic  irritation.  There  is  no  obsta- 
cle to  a  strong  mutual  friendship.  Japan  has,  in  a  remarkable 
degree,  shown  her  confidence  in  the  government  and  people  of 
the  United  States.  She  copies  our  thrift  and  enterprise,  and 
desires  to  catch  the  spirit  and  genius  of  our  institutions. 


130  THE   GK.EAT    CONQUEST. 

She  has  looked  to  this  country  cliiefly  for  instructors  in  her 
colleges  and  other  schools,  and  has  sent  multitudes  of  her  youth 
to  be  trained  on  our  own  soil. 

When  has  a  Christian  nation  enjoyed  a  nobler  opportunity 
for  influence  than  we  now  have  1  When  or  where  has  the 
Christian  Church  received  a  clearer  call  to  duty  1 


XXIV. 

EEASONS  FOR  PEOTESTANT  MISSIONS  IN  ROMAN 
CATHOLIC  COUNTRIES. 

There  are  some  who  raise  a  question  here,  though  they  are 
deeply  interested  in  missions  to  the  heathen.  There  is  a 
difference,  it  is  true,  between  those  who  know  the  name  of 
Chi'ist  and  those  who  have  never  heard  even  a  comipted 
Gospel.  At  the  same  time,  the  general  interests  of  Christi- 
anity in  the  earth  may  render  it  important  to  consider  the 
quality  of  that  which  claims  to  represent  the  Church  of  Christ. 
The  existence  of  Mohammedanism  in  the  East  bears  witness 
to  the  terrible  reactions  which  may  be  brought  about  by  the 
corruption  of  Christianity, 

Humanly  speaking,  Islam  would  never  have  arisen  but  for 
the  downright  idolatry  iato  which  the  Eastern  Church  had 
fallen.  Its  chief  impulse  lay  in  the  vigor  of  its  protest  against 
the  alleged  polytheism  of  saints,  and  images,  and  relics.  It 
ralhed  its  forces  around  the  monotheistic  teachings  of  the  Old 
Testament,  and  pursued  against  the  Church  something  like  the 
rigorous  warfare  which  the  Israelites  had  been  divinely  taught 
to  wage  against  the  idolatrous  tribes  of  Canaan. 

Protestantism,  therefore,  must  be  jealous  for  the  very  name 
of  Christianity ;  and  Protestant  missions  must  labor  assid- 
uously not  only  for  the  spread  of  the  Gospel,  but  for  the 
maintenance  of  its  purity  and  power.  In  the  Turkish  Empire 
and  in  Persia,  a  fii*st  necessity  is  recognized,  of  reforming 
the  nominal,  but  effete  Christian  churches  —  the  Greek  and 


MISSIONS   IN   EOMAN   CATHOLIO   COUNTRIES.  131 

tbe  Armenian.  The  Coptic  and  Abyssinian  Cliurclies  of 
Africa,  and  the  I-lomau  Catholic  Chui'chds  of  all  lauds,  fall 
under  the  same  necessity. 

Those  who  question  the  policy  of  carrying  on  missions  in 
Catholic  countries,  are  apt  to  overlook  *tlie  important  fact, 
that  the  Papal  system,  where  it  is  possessed  of  full  power 
and  influence,  is  quite  different  from  the  Catholicism  which 
exists  under  the  restraints  of  our  American  institutions. 
Here  Papists  are  in  the  minority,  and  are  put  upon  their 
good  behavior ;  and  through  the  schools  and  the  press  a  great 
amount  of  light  penetrates  the  Church  in  spite  of  all  efforts 
to  exclude  it.  The  hierarchy  here  does  many  things,  partly 
from  policy  and  partly  fi'om  necessity,  which  would  never  be 
thought  of  in  Ii-eland  or  in  Austria.  It  is  compelled  to  teach, 
and  discuss,  and  explain.  It  even  affects  to  join,  to  some 
extent,  in  the  progress  of  Protestant  society. 

Now,  if  there  were  no  other  motive  for  carrying  the  Gospel 
into  a  country  like  Mexico  or  Brazil,  all  our  effort  would  be 
justified  in  the  reform  to  be  produced  in  the  Papacy  itself. 
It  sliould  not  be  permitted  to  hide  away  in  the  dark  comers 
of  the  earth,  excluding  all  light,  and  ruling  men  with  unques- 
tioned sway.  It  should  be  challenged  by  the  full  contact  and 
questioning  of  the  truth.  It  should  be  called  to  defend  its 
practices,  and  give  unto  God  and  an  enlightened  world  some 
account  of  its  stewardship. 

Already  where  Missions  have  been  estabHshed,  improve- 
ments have  appeared.  Protestant  schools  have  been  followed 
by  Catholic  schools,  Protestant  papers  by  CathoHc  papers ; 
and  since  Protestant  missionaries  have  begun  to  preach  on 
the  Sabbath,  the  priests,  who  formerly  went  to  the  bull-fight 
or  the  cockpit,  have  also  felt  constrained  to  preach. 

But  the  great  motive  for  this  work  lies  in  the  fact  that  the 
teaching  of  the  Papacy  is  false  and  harmful  to  the  general 
interests  of  manidnd.  It  is  essentially  anti-Christ.  We  do 
not  deny  that  many  CathoHcs  are  Christians  ;  but  with  all 
charity  to  those  in  that  communion  who  sincerely  trust  in  the 


1^2  THE    GEEAT    CONQUEST. 

blood  of  Christ,  we  are  nevertheless  constrained  to  condemn 
their  system.     We  arraign  its  doctrine  of  Purgatory  as  being 
unscriptural,  and  as  constituting  a  weapon  of  priestly  tyranny 
over  ignorant  minds.     It  makes  merchandise  of  tlie  rewards 
and  punishments  of  the  future  world,  and  is  an  unbounded 
source  of  corruption.     We  arraign  the  dogma  of  Indulgences 
as  tampering  with  the  human  conscience  for  purposes  of  gain. 
We  condemn  the  doctrine  of   Celibacy  in  the  priesthood  as 
one  of  the  most  fruitful  occasions  of  the  vice  and  immorality 
which  prevail  in  all  Papal  countries.     We  condemn  the  Con- 
fessional as  being,  first  of   all,   a  usurpation  of   tliat  power 
which  belongs  only  unto  God,  and  as  tempting  the  priest  to 
pruriency  of  imagination,  and  leading  at  length  to  those  indeli- 
cacies which  corrupt  both  the  confessor    and   the  penitent. 
We  condemn  the  alleged  Vicegerency  of  the  Pope  as  being  a 
monstrous  and  even  blasphemous  assumption.     We  repudiate 
the  notion  of  Baptismal  Regeneration  as  teaching  ca  scheme  of 
grace  which  is  superficial  and  illusive.     The  mere  baptism  of 
the  masses,  whether  in  Catholic  countries  or  on  mission-fields, 
has  utterly  failed  to   show  the  fruits  of    regeneration.      We 
arraign  the  doctrine  of  Paj)al  Infallibility   as  an  outrage   on 
common-sense,  and  as  bringing  the  indiscriminate  contempt  of 
many  thoughtful  minds  upon  all  religion.     We  look  upon  the 
Ultramontane  doctrines  of  Rome,  in  regard  to  the  relations  of 
Chui'ch  and  State,  as  dangerous  to  human  libertj',   and   as 
tending  to  impede  all  social  progress  in  the  world. 

Who  can  deny  that  these  doctrines  have  proved  posi- 
tively injurious  to  mankind  ?  It  is  only  necessary  to  look 
abroad  over  Europe  and  our  own  continent  to  see  that  Ro- 
manism, wherever  dominant,  has  been  the  foe  of  education, 
and  liberty,  and  true  progress  ;  that  it  has  deteriorated  some 
of  the  noblest  races,  and  utterly  failed  to  elevate  those  which 
it  attempted  to  enlighten. 

The  Papacy  has  so  far  degraded  the  Latin  races  of  Italy  and 
Spain — both  lauds  of   historic  renown — that   they  are   now 


MISSIONS   IN    ROMAN   CATHOLIC   COUNTRIES.  133 

rectoned  of  less  consequence  to  the  Church  herself  than  the 
better  material  f  .>uncl  in  Protestant  countries. 

An  intelligent  Roman  Catholic  recently  confessed  that  tbo 
Itahan  people  were  degraded  to  an  extreme  degree;  but 
added  that  the  Church  was  less  concer^d  for  the  Itahans 
than  for  -America !  In  other  words,  the  nation  which  has 
been  under  her  molding  power  for  ages,  she  now  regards 
with  indifference,  compared  with  the  vigorous  young  Republic 
for  which  Protestant  principles  have  done  so  ranch. 

Tliere  cannot  be  a  more  melancholy  illustration  of  the 
blight  of  the  Papacy  than  that  which  was  shown  in  Spain 
in  the  dark  days  of  the  Inquisition.  A  Catholic  author,  St. 
Hilaire,  eulogizes  that  kingdom  for  her  self-denial  in  expelling 
the  Jews  and  the  Moors  as  "  poisonous  plants  of  heresy  ;" 
though  with  the  one  race  she  banished  her  agriculture,  and 
with  the  other  her  trade.  "  Let  it  not  be  said,"  he  writes, 
"  that  Spain  in  thus  depriving  herself  of  her  most  active  citizens, 
■was  not  aware  of  the  extent  of  her  loss.  All  her  historians 
concur  in  the  statement  that,  in  acting  thus,  she  sacrificed  her 
temporal  interests  to  her  religious  convictions  ;  and  all  are  at 
a  loss  for  ivorcls  to  extol  such  a  glorious  sacrifice.'''' 

But  it  was  not  merely  a  widespread  devastation  that  fol- 
lowed these  measures.  Scenes  of  cruelty  had  brutalized  the 
Catholic  population  which  remained.  "  It  required  about  one 
generation,"  says  Sismondi,  "  to  accustom  the  Spaniards  to  the 
sanguinary  proceedings  of  the  Inquisition,  and  to  thoroughly 
fanaticLze  the  populace.  This  work,  dictated  by  an  infernal 
policy,  was  scarcely  begun  when  Charles  V.  commenced  his 
reign  ;  and  it  was  probably  the  fatal  spectacle  of  the  Auto-da- 
fe  that  imparted  to  the  Spanish  soldiers  that  ferocity  which 
was  so  remarkable  dux'ing  that  whole  period,  bat  which  before 
that  had  been  utterly  foreign  to  their  nature." 

One  more  witness  will  suffice.  "  To  calculate,"  says  Llor- 
ente,  secretary  to  the  Holy  Office,  "  the  number  of  victims  of 
the  Inquisition,  were  to  give  palpable  proof  of  one  of  the  most 


134  THE   GREAT   CONQUEST. 

powerful  and  active  causes  of  the  depopulation  of  Spain;  for 
if  to  several  millions  of  inhabitants  of  which  the  inquisitorial 
system  has  deprived  this  kingdom  by  the  total  expulsion  of 
the  Jews  and  the  conquered  Moors,  we  add  about  500,000 
families  entirely  destroyed  by  the  executions  of  the  Holy 
Office,  it  will  be  proved  beyond  a  doubt,  that  had  it  not  been 
for  this  tribunal,  and  the  influence  of  its  maxims,  Spain 
would  possess  12,000,000  souls  above  her  present  population." 

But  we  are  chiefly  interested  in  the  conflict  waged  with 
Romanism  in  North  and  South  America.  A  French  author, 
M.  Edgard  Quinet,  has  maintained  that  only  here  on  the 
virgin  soil  of  a  new  continent,  can  a  fair  and  conclusive  trial 
of  CathoHcism  and  Protestantism  be  witnessed.  And  he 
has  drawn  some  graphic  contrasts  between  the  settlement 
of  Mexico  and  Peru  and  other  Catholic  States  where 
the  whole  prestige  of  the  Chui'ch  and  the  patronage  of  gov- 
ernment favored  the  colonists  ;  and  that  of  the  New  England 
States,  in  which  little  bands  of  vhtual  exiles,  poor  and  humble, 
but  resolute  and  true,  "landed  with  their  one  book,"  and 
laid  the  solid  foundations  of  a  mighty  and  self-governed 
empire. 

It  cannot  be  maintained  that  the  Spanish  States  of  America 
found  either  the  soil  or  the  climate  of  then-  chosen  heritage 
less  favorable  to  a  high  civilization  than  the  bleak  shores  of 
Massachusetts.  The  reverse  is  true.  Akeady  the  highest 
civilizations  of  the  continent  had  been  found  in  the  South. 
The  Toltecs  and  Aztecs  of  Mexico  and  the  Incas  of  Peru,  had 
far  excelled  the  Pequots  or  the  Senecas  of  the  Atlantic  slope. 

Moreover,  the  Spanish  colonies  had  a  hundred  years  of 
advantage  in  the  outstart.  The  Catholics  of  Chili  have 
recently  celebrated  their  three  hundred  and  thirty-fourth 
anniversary,  and  it  is  three  hundred  and  fifty-six  years  since 
Cortes  entered  Mexico. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  portray  the  present  condition  of  the 
United  States  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  these  Eoman  Catholic 


MISSIONS   m   KOilAN    CATUOLIC   COUNTRIES.  ■     loO 

coimtries  on  the  other.  Tlio  contrast  of  to-day  stands  out 
sharply  enough  in  every  intelligent  mind. 

And  as  to  the  cause  of  the  difference  can  there  be  any 
doubt?  It  is  not  to  be  found  in  our  republican  form  of  gov- 
ernment ;  for  ihere  is  certainly  no  scarcity  of  republics  in 
Central  and  South  America.  The  people  have  not  hesitated  to 
establish  new  governments  as  often  as  they  desired.  Mexico 
alone  has  passed  through  fifty-six  revolutions  since  the  year 
1821,  and  generally  in  the  alleged  interest  of  republican 
institutions. 

The  one  explanation  which  none  can  deny  or  ignore,  is 
found  in  the  fact,  that  our  own  nation  was  founded  on  the 
Bible,  while  the  Spanish  states  were  from  the  outset  doomed 
to  ignorance  and  superstition  ;  on  the  one  hand.  Christian 
homes  were  established,  alike  by  the  clergy  and  the  laity, 
and  marriage  was  held  sacred  before  God  and  men ;  while 
on  the  other,  a  celibate  priesthood,  far  removed  fr-om  the 
restraints  of  Eui'opean  surveillance,  was  turned  loose  among 
the  simple-minded  tribes  of  a  new  continent,  where  they 
became  the  very  leaders  of  vice  and  immorality  ;  in  the  one 
case,  schools  and  colleges  sprang  up  with  all  the  blessings 
of  a  Chi'istian  literature,  while  in  the  other,  the  people,  still 
as  ignorant  and  degraded  as  before,  were  amused  with  festi- 
vals and  pageants,  combining  heathen  rites  with  Papal  super- 
stitions. 

But  the  day  has  come  at  last  when  the  people  of  Mexico 
and  the  South  American  States  can  no  longer  be  kept  in 
ignorance;  when  the  daily  papers  publish  facts  and  discussions 
from  all  parts  of  the  world  which  bear  against  the  tyranny  of 
Rome  ;  when  statesmen  see  and  declare  that  liberty  of  thought 
and  general  intelhgence  ai'e  essential  to  national  stabiHty  and 
thrift ;  when  even  in  San  Salvador,  Roman  Catholic  rioters 
are  punished  as  the  law  demands,  and  in  Mexico  the  murder- 
ers of  Protestant  missionaries  are  executed  for  their  Crimea 

It  is  a  pleasant  service  to  help  men  who  are  already  seeking 


136  THE    GREAT    CONQUEST. 

for  progress  and  enlightenment;  and  perhaps  there  is  no  other 
country  in  the  world  where,  just  at  the  present  time,  a  more 
cordial  welcome  is  given  to  the  truth  than  in  Mexico.  Mis- 
sionary labor  within  the  last  five  years  has  borne  remarkable 
fruits. 

Brazil  also  is  among  the  most  promising  fields;  and  Chili  i 
awakening  from  the  dream  of  three  centuries  and  calhng  for 
the  truth.  A  leading  journal  in  Santiago,  on  the  5th  Decem- 
ber, 1875,  pubhslied  a  letter  from  a  native  Chilian,  in  which, 
though  nominally  Catholic,  he  advocated  the  spread  of  evan- 
gelical truth  as  a  government  measure.  He  had  been  investi- 
gating the  relative  merits  of  Romanism  and  Protestantism,  and 
stirred  by  the  contrast,  he  insisted  that  the  cure  for  immoral- 
ity and  priestcraft  was  to  be  found  in  the  study  of  the  Scrip- 
tures by  the  people. 

"  This  waiter's  appeal,"  says  the  (Protestant)  Record  of  Val- 
paraiso, "  is  not  to  the  nineteenth  century,  but  to  the  first — to 
Jesus  Christ.  He  does  not  bring  forward  the  rejection  of  all 
rehgion  as  the  panacea  for  present  deceptions  in  rebgion,  but 
the  intelligent  acceptance  of  the  Redeemer,  He  quotes  with 
approval  from  the  pamphlet  that  the  superiority  of  Protestant 
over  Papal  countries  is  that  the  Protestant  profess  Christian- 
ity, while  the  Papal  profess  Ultramontanism  ;  and  cites  fi'om 
an  Italian  journal  the  hard  saying,  that  '  the  countries  cling- 
ing to  Popery  are  dead  or  d^dng  out.' 

"  He  proceeds  to  maintain  that  the  ideas  of  fi'eedom  which 
have  given  prosperity  to  other  lands,  cannot  be  utilized  so 
long  as  the  domiaation  of  Rome  is  admitted  in  the  constitution 
and  administration  of  government.  To  govern  with  the  clergy 
is  to  enslave  the  nation;  to  govern  in  opposition  to  them  is  to 
put  all  authority  in  peril.  To  govern  at  then-  side  taking  no 
notice  of  them,  would  be  the  most  prudent,  but  this  they  will 
not  permit.     It  is  necessary  either  to  obey  or  to  resist  them. 

"  And  since  the  State  cannot  oblige  the  priests  to  preach  or 
order  the  reading  of  the  Gospel,  let  the  government  do  wha,t 
lies  within  its  reach;  let  it  make  obligatory  by  law  the  study  of 


MISSIONS    IN    KOIMAN    CAXnOLIC    COUNTKIES.  137 

the  Gospel  in  the  schools  and  academies  of  the  Republic  ;  and 
let  all  good  men,  for  their  part,  aid  the  State  in  this  gi'eat 
work  by  promoting  lectures  for  adults  and  scatteiing  the 
tniths  of  the  Gospel  through  the  countr}^,  in  all  sections  of 
it." 

As  another  reason  for  carrying  on  mission-work  in  Cath- 
olic countries  the  Papacy  is  an  aggressive  system,  and  should 
be  dealt  with  at  its  sources.  Its  old  centers  are  seed-beds. 
It  everywhere  produces  its  like  and  brings  forth  after  its 
kind.  As  it  has  blighted  society  in  its  own  countries,  it 
will  blight  all  the  Mission  fields. 

It  forestalls  the  spread  of  the  real  Gospel  and  misrepre- 
sents the  Christian  name.  It  mocks  the  needy  souls  of  the 
heathen,  by  giving  them  a  stone  for  bread  and  a  serpent 
for  a  fish. 

The  chief  obstacle  to  missions  in  Japan  lies  in  the  pi'ej- 
uclice  excited  by  the  intrigues  of  the  Jesuits  two  centuries 
ago.  The  Chinese  at  that  same  early  day  freely  admitted 
the  Jestiit  missionaries,  but  they  too  were  compelled  to  di-ive 
them  out ;  and  at  this  very  time  they  are  stung  by  the  ex- 
actions of  an  interj)olated  French  treaty  which  compels  the 
surrender  to  the  Church  of  old  estates  which  were  confis- 
cated six  generations  ago.  And  this  old  grudge  and  the 
present  alleged  practice  of  kidnapping  children,  serve  to 
prejudice  the  work  of  ail  missions  that  bear  the  Christian 
name. 

In  India,  too,  early  opportunities  were  given,  and  with  ad- 
verse results.  The  Catholic  fathers  of  the  Portuguese  col- 
ony at  Goa  were  invited  by  the  Great  Akbar  to  meet  the 
moulahs  of  Islam  at  his  com't  in  Agra,  and  freely  defend  and 
commend  their  faith.  He  was  noted  for  his  candor  and  his 
catholic  sph'it,  and  he  even  had  in  his  harem  a  Christian  wife. 
The  priests  presented  their  arguments  and  their  rites;  but  the 
verdict  of  idolatry  fell  upon  their  saint- worship  and  images, 
and  the  simple  worship  of  Allah  was  preferred 


138  THE  GREAT   CONQUEST. 

Why  has  not  the  Christianity  of  Goa  regenerated  India? 
Tv' hy  during  all  this  long  occupation,  both  there  and  in  the 
South,  has  the  Papacy  done  nothing  to  elevate  the  people  ? 
Why  has  it  not  removed  caste,  emancipated  woman,  and 
destroyed  the  habitations  of  cruelty  ?  For  the  reason  that  it 
carries  with  it  no  regenerating  power.  It  has  merely  baptized 
the  people,  leaving  their  heathen  customs  untouched.  So  far 
from  opposing  caste  in  India  it  has  adopted  it.  A  Catholic 
missionary,  Father  Manduit,  says :  "  We  must  have  pariah 
catechists  to  teach  pariahs,  and  Brahmin  catechists  to  teach 
Brahmins."  And  he  confesses  that  he  declined  a  request  to 
baptize  some  j)ariahs  at  Pouloir  for  fear  of  the  Brahmins  ; 
covering  his  cowardice  with  the  text  (ii.  Cor.  6,  3),  "  Giving 
no  offence  in  anything  that  the  ministry  be  n(>t  blamed !  " 

We  have  spoken  in  another  chapter  of  the  constancy  of  the 
2,000  Protestant  converts  in  North  India  in  the  time  of  the 
Sepoy  mutiny,  when  under  promises  and  threats  and  the 
prospect  of  death,  all  but  six  held  fast  to  their  Chiistian  faith. 
Not  so  with  the  merely  baptized  Papal  converts  in  Southern 
India.  The  Abbe  Dubois,  in  his  letters  on  Christianity,  tell  a 
us  that  when  the  Moslem  Sultan  of  Mysore ,  compelled  the 
Catholic  Christians  of  his  province  to  espouse  Islam  and  be 
circumcised,  all  abandoned  their  Christian  faith.  "  Oh,  shame ! 
Oh,  scandal !  "  he  says  ;  "  not  one  among  so  many  thousands 
had  coui'age  to  confess  and  become  a  martyr  for  his  religion." 
The  same  author  having,  as  he  says,  vowed  to  be  candid,  tells 
us,  with  "  shame  and  confusion,"  that  of  the  two  or  three 
hundred  converts  whom  he  had  baptized  in  India,  he  does 
"  not  remember  any  one  who  may  be  said  to  have  embraced 
Christianity  from  conviction  and  from  purely  disinterested 
motives." 

Aside,  then,  from  the  personal  salvation  of  multitudes  in 
Catholic  countries,  who  from  feeding  on  husks  may  receive  the 
bread  of  life,  we  find  broad  and  general  motives  for  mission- 
work  in  the  one  contest  between  a  pure  and  a  corrupt  Chris- 
tianity waged  for  universal  sway*     Wisdom  would  dictate  that 


MISSIONS    IN   KOMAN    CATUOLIO   CO0NTRIE8.  139 

we  should  not  merely  combat  the  influences  of  Romanism  in 
detail  on  heathen  soil,  but  that  ^Ye  should  meet  them  in  their 
soui'ces,  and  especially  those  representing'  America. 

Christians  of  the  United  States  h^ve  a  special  field  of  effort 
in  the  Catholic  countries  of  this  hemisphere.  This  sparsely 
settled  continent  is  yet  to  be  peopled  by  gi'cat  nations,  and 
they  will  undoubtedly  be  Christian  nations.  But  what  kind  of 
Christianity  shall  they  represent  1  Under  the  Christian  name 
they  will  exert  a  great  influence,  not  only  upon  each  other,  but 
upon  the  Asiatic  races  across  the  Pacific.  What  shall  be  the 
character  of  that  influence'?  Our  country,  which  the  Bible 
has  made  to  differ  so  widely  from  its  Catholic  neighbors,  and 
whose  moral  power  is  greater  than  that  of  all  the  rest,  must 
be  answerable  for  an  influence  commensurate  with  its  ad- 
vantages and  its  power. 

It  will  be  derelict  in  the  judgment  of  history,  if  it  fails  to 
give  to  the  whole  continent  that  emancipation  with  which  the 
Gospel  makes  men  free. 

With  respect  to  Mexico,  especially,  we  are  concerned  for  the 
influence  which  she  shall  exert  upon  our  own  country.  Her 
conflict  with  Jesuitism  is  ours  also.  She  is  close  upon  our 
border  and  must  share  our  destiny.  Her  political  institutions 
are  modelled  after  ours,  and  she  aspires  to  the  same  liberty 
that  we  enjoy.  She  can  never  be  safe  against  anarchy,  how- 
ever, until  her  people  are  enlightened.  That  enlightenment 
they  now  crave. 

Mexico  stretches  out  her  hands  for  the  Bible.  Her  long 
deluded  sons,  having  merely  tasted  the  sweets  of  religious 
liberty,  willingly  meet  persecution,  and  even  death,  rather  than 
relinquish  it.  Mexico,  emerging  from  the  darkness  and  bondage 
of  more  than  three  centuries,  is  worthy  of  help,  and  it  is  in 
our  power  to  render  it.  It  is  now  her  seed-time  ;  and  we 
whose  very  vicinage  affords  opportunity,  shall  be  measurably 
responsible  for  the  harvest. 


140  THE   GREAT   CONQUEST. 


XXY. 

THE    EVANGELIZATION    OF    THE    AMERICAN 
INDIANS. 

To  GIVE  the  Gospel  to  the  Indians  of  our  own  couutry  has 
always  been  considered  a  matter  of  siraple  justice.  An  avow- 
ed object  of  some  of  the  early  colonists  was  to  evangelize  the 
native  inhabitants.  It  was  the  expectation  not  only  of  William 
Penn,  but  of  many  settlers  in  New  England  and  elsewhere, 
that  both  races  would  be  benefited  by  the  coming  of  the  white 
man. 

Charles  I.,  in  the  charter  which  he  granted  to  the  Massachu- 
setts Colon}'  in  1628,  gave  directions  that  the  people  from 
England  "  may  be  so  peaceably  and  religiously  governed,  as 
their  good  life  and  orderly  conversation  may  win  and  incite  the 
natives  of  the  country  to  the  knowledge  and  obedience  of  the 
only  true  God  and  Saviour  of  mankind,  and  the  Christian 
faith,  which,  in  our  Royal  intention  and  the  adventurers'  free 
profession,  is  the  jorincipal  end  of  the  plantation.''' 

It  was  generally  considered"  the  particular  mission  of  both 
Protestants  and  Roman  Catholics  in  coming  to  this  continent 
for  the  truth's  sal^e,  that  they  should  impart  that  truth  to  the 
Indian  tribes.  Many  conquering  races,  invading  other  coun- 
tries for  no  other  purpose  than  that  of  bloody  conquest,  have 
given  their  religious  faiths  to  the  conquered,  and  have  permit- 
ted them  to  dwell  in  the  land  as  sharers  of  their  civilizations 
and  their  religions. 

Much  more  should  those  who  came  to  these  shores  on  peace- 
ful and  even  religious  errands,  have  been  expected  to  raise  up 
the  Indian  tribes  to  a  true  Christian  brotherhood,  as  well  as  to 
a  joint  possession  and  culture  of  a  land  which  of  right  was 
wholly  theirs. 

The  result,  however,  has  been  far  otherwise.  The  Gospel 
has  been  imparted  in  some  little  degree,  but  rum  and  vice  have 
always  been  vastly  in  excess  of  Gospel  influence.     War  and 


EVANGELIZATION  OF  THE  AMERICAN  INDIANS.  141 

spoliation  have  gone  mucli  farther  tlian  missionary  effort.  The 
European  settlers  in  this  country  have  the  b.id  eminence  of 
having  well-nigh  extirpated  the  native  races  of  a  continent  in 
less  tlian  three  centuries.  The  Saracens,  bloody  as  they  were, 
did  not  this  in  Asia  or  Africa.  The  old  Romans  never  did  this 
in  any  of  the  countries  which  were  visited  with  their  victori- 
ous arms  and  their  heathen  rites. 

It  were  fair  to  admit  that  this  has  been  due  in  part  to  the 
charactei-  and  habits  of  the  Indian — so  averse  to  o\ir  civiliza- 
tion. But  in  greater  degree  has  it  been  due  to  the  constant 
inroads  made  by  us  upon  their  rights,  the  baneful  contact  of 
dishonest  traders,  and  the  introduction  of  ruinous  vices.  The 
Indian  has  suffered  pecidiarly  in  all  the  wars  waged  between 
white  men  for  this  country  as  well  as  in  those  carried  on  against 
liim?elf. 

Each  new  stride  of  our  national  progress  has  also  served  a 
new  notice  on  him  to  retire  farther  and  fiirther  from  the  homes 
and  possessions  of  his  fathers,  till  at  last  little  of  the  common 
territory  that  is  worth  the  possessing  is  left  him.  Even  the 
honest  efforts  made  by  the  Government  to  sustain  and  elevate 
the  Indian  have  in  most  cases  been  thwarted  by  the  interven- 
tion of  corrupt  agents,  who  have  made  fortunes  by  systematic 
aid  wholesale  frauds. 

If  the  scattered  tribes  on  the  plains  are  to-day  implacably 
hostile,  there  is  a  reason  for  it.  It  is  not  strange  that  the  In- 
dian looks  upon  the  white  man  as  a  deceiver  and  a  heartless 
villain.  Those  with  whom  he  has  had  most  to  do,  have  often 
been  of  this  class.  Previous  to  the  systematic  efforts 
of  the  present  Administration  to  secure  a  just  and  humane 
policy,  fraud  has  been  the  rule,  and  justice  the  exception,  with 
the  agents  of  the  Government. 

But  it  is  consoling,  in  the  midst  of  these  dark  facts,  to  know 
that  there  has  always  l)een  a  marked  distinction  between  the 
nation  and  the  Church  in  their  treatment  of  the  perishing  savage 
tribes. 

In  the  Presbyterian  Church  a  deep  interest  has  been  created 


142  THE    GREAT   CONQUEST. 

by  the  efforts  which  were  put  forth  for  the  Indians  by  the  late 
Hon.  Walter  Lowrie,  who,  while  Secretary  of  the  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions,  gave  great  attention  to  these  neglected  pagans 
of  our  own  country.  He  made  successive  visits  to  their  dis- 
tant settlements,  and  not  only  conceived  a  deep  love  for  them 
on  his  own  part,  but  enkindled  an  enthusiastic  interest  in  their 
behalf  in  the  hearts  of  many  others. 

Every  bi'anch  of  the  Church  has  done  more  or  less,  though 
far  too  little,  to  withstand  the  ruthless  tread  of  mammon,  to 
check  the  invasion  of  vice,  to  save  the  poor  pagan  from  destruc- 
tion, and  if  possible  to  teach  him  useful  arts  and  the  knowledge 
of  eternal  life.  The  heroic  labors  of  such  men  as  Elliot,  Brain- 
crd,  Kirkland,  WorC'^ster,  Boudinot,  Whitman,  Spaulding,  By- 
ington,  Gleason,  Wright,  Riggs,  Williamson,  and  a  host  of 
others,  stand  out  in  bold  and  bright  relief;  noble  women  also 
have  endured  every  hardship  in  the  blessed  work  of  imparting 
light  and  comfort  to  the  vanisliing  tribes — following  them  step 
by  stej),  and  sharing  all  their  new  trials  and  privations,  as  they 
were  driven  from  one  reservation  to  another  at  the  beck  of  the 
conquering  white  man. 

To  construct  and  establish  a  Christian  nationality  under  all 
the  adverse  circumstances  which  have  been  named,  has  of 
course  been  impossible.  That  part  of  the  missionary  problem, 
as  it  stands  elsewhere,  finds  no  place  in  the  Indian  missions. 
The  nearest  approach  to  national  existence  has  been  made  by 
some  of  the  tribes  settled  in  the  Indian  Territory. 

But  the  salvation  of  tnen  as  such,  irrespective  of  national 
problems — the  men  who  live  to-day,  w'hatever  may  become  of 
their  descendants  a  few  years  hence — this  is  the  great  inspiring 
motive  in  our  missionary  effort  for  the  Indians.  These  forlorn 
remnants  are  immortal ;  they  are  included  in  the  covenant  of 
grace;  they  belong  to  Christ.  They  have  not  only  a  general, 
but  a  special  claim  upon  Christians  in  America,  since  they  have 
yielded  their  goodly  heritage  to  us.  Their  ruin  has  been  our 
gain. 

Moreover,  they  have  been  shown  to  be  susceptible  of  religious 


EVANGELIZATION  OF  THE  AMERICAN  INDIANS.  143 

emotion  and  religions  culture,  even  thougli  not  capable  of  civili- 
zation. 

Most  intelligent  Christians  are  familiar  with  tlie  interesting 
scenes  connected  with  the  work  of  David  Brainerd  among  tlie 
Indians  at  Crosswceksung,  N.  J.,  in  the  early  days  of  Missions. 
Seldom  has  the  presence  of  God's  approving  Spirit  been  more 
manifest  than  among  the  "Savages,"  who  were  melted  into  ten- 
derness and  tears  as  Brainerd,  out  of  a  heart  of  glowing  zeal, 
told  them  the  story  of  the  Cross. 

Such  experiences  entered  into  the  stock  of  our  religious  his- 
tory in  this  country  ;  they  benefited  not  the  Indians  only,  but 
the  whole  Church  ;  they  added  new  impulse  and  a  stronger  faith 
to  all  who  labored  for  souls,  whether  of  red  men  or  of  white; 
they  illustrated  the  essential  brotherhood  of  mankind,  and 
proved  anew  that  the  grace  of  God  is  not  a  respecter  of  race,  or 
color,  or  condition. 

Much  of  the  early 'effort  put  forth  for  the  Indians  produced 
rich  spiritual  fruit  to  the  Anglo-Ameiican  settlers.  Elliott  at 
Eoxbury,  and  the  elder  Edwards  at  Stockbridge,  carried  on 
their  work  among  the  Indians  and  in  their  own  congregations 
conjointly;  and  Kirkland's  devoted  labors  among  the  Oneidas 
lay  at  the  very  foundation  of  that  early  religious  history,  the 
blessed  results  of  which  are  enjoyed  throughout  Central  New 
York  to  this  day.  And  there  are  many  localities  in  the  Middle 
and  Western  States  where  the  foundations  laid  in  Indian  Mis- 
sions, though  they  were  of  transient  service  to  the  red  men, 
proved  of  permanent  value  to  the  white  settlers  and  their  de- 
scendants. 

On  the  24th  of  May,  1872,  was  celebrated  the  centennial  of 
the  first  introduction  of  Christianity  into  Ohio.  The  first 
Protestant  Church  had  been  formed  at  Schoenbrun  a  century  be- 
fore, by  the  Moravian  missionary,  David  Zeisberger,  who  was 
accompanied  by  three  or  four  Christian  Indians. 

But  while  the  present  Christian  occupants  of  the  old  heritage 
of  the  Delawai'es  show  their  gratitude  to  those  first  apostles  to 
their  State,  they  are  compelled  to  mourn  over  bloody  wrongs 


144  THE   GREAT   CONQUEST. 

which  were  perpetrated  by  white  men  at  that  very  phice.  A 
month  after  the  above-named  celebration,  the  same  audience  as- 
sembled for  the  purpose  of  mising  a  monument  to  ninety-six 
Christian  Indians  who  were  murdered  in  March,  1782,  by  a 
band  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  whites. 

These  unoffending  people  seem  to  have  been  literally  ground 
between  the  upper  and  the  nether  millstone  of  the  British  and 
the  Colonial  armies.  They  had  been  dragged  away  from  their 
homes  by  native  allies  and  agents  of  the  British  commander 
at  Detroit,  on  a  rumor  that  they  had  aided  the  Colonists. 
"When  it  had  been  shown  that  according  to  the  principles  re- 
ceived from  the  Moravians,  they  had  remained  in  strict  neu- 
trality, and  they  had  returned  to  their  piMaged  homes,  it  was 
only  to  be  betrayed  and  massacred  by  a  band  of  American 
militiamen.  Upon  abundant  assurances  of  safety  and  kind 
treatment,  the  Indians  had  delivered  themselves  up  without  re- 
sistance. When  it  had  been  determined  to  massacre  them,  one 
of  the  assailing  party  was  sent  to  inform  them  that  they  were 
to  die  on  the  morrow.     That  night  they  spent  in  prayer. 

We  have  been  shocked  by  the  history  of  the  massacre  of 
women  and  children  at  Cawnpore,  India,  by  Sepoys,  and  of  the 
slaughter-house  by  the  well,  in  which  two  hundred  and  six  per- 
sons were  cut  to  pieces. 

But  the  parallel  furnished  at  Gnadenhutten  and  Schoenbrun, 
in  the  death  of  the  Christian  martyrs  of  Ohio,  is  most  striking. 

The  following  brief  passage  from  the  sketch  of  the  Moravian 
Missions,  given  by  Rev.  William  Brown,  M.D.,  tells  the  sad 
story  : 

"When  the  day  of  execution  arrived,  the  murderers  fixed  on 
two  houses,  one  for  the  men,  the  other  for  the  twenty-seven 
women  and  thirty-four  children  ;  to  which  they  wantonly  gave 
the  names  of  slaughter-houses. 

"  The  poor  innocent  creatures,  men,  women,  and  children,  were 
bound  with  ropes,  two  together.  They  were  then  led  into  the 
slaughter-houses  prepai-ed  for  them,  where  they  Avere  scalped 
and  murdered  in  cold  blood." 


EVAITGELIZATION  OF  THE  AMERICAN  INDIANS.  145 

According* to  the  testimony  of  the  mui-dercrs  thennselves, 
tlicy  behaved  vrith  wonderful  patience  and  met  death  with 
cheerful  resignation.  The  assassins  acknowledged  that  they 
were  ''  good  Indiaas,"  and  reported  that  they  "  sang  and  prayed 
till  their  latest  breath." 

It  will  perhaps  never  be  possible  for  the  American  people  to 
realize  how  much  suflfering  to  the  Indian  tribes  was  consequent 
upon  the  trying  position  which  they  held  between  Great 
Britain  and  the  Colonists;  and  even  before  the  Revolution,  in 
the  strife  between  the  British  and  the  French.  They  had 
nothirg  to  gain  and  everything  to  lose.  It  was  only  a  question 
which  party  in  the  conflict  should  possess  their  heritage.  And 
yet  the  Indians  were  always  the  chief  sufferers  ;  and  our  grati- 
tude and  our  sense  of  duty  should  be  enhanced  by  the  ftict  that 
in  both  great  conflicts  they  generally  took  sides,  first,  with  the 
English  against  the  French,  and  then  with  the  Colonists  against 
the  English.  Nor  was  their  influence  small.  It  is  scarcely  too 
much  to  say  that  the  Six  Nations,  by  their  alliance  with  the 
English  against  the  French,  turned  the  scale  of  our  country's 
destiny  from  a  French  Catholic,  to  an  English  Protestant 
civilization. 

On  this  subject  I  quote  at  some  length  from  an  able  address 
of  ex-Governor  Horatio  Seymour,  delivered  at  Clinton,  New 
York,  in  June,  1873,  at  the  dedication  of  a  monument  to  the 
missionary.  Rev.  Samuel  Kirkland.  After  alluding  to  the  early 
struggle  of  the  Colonies,  he  adds :  "  Our  national  independence 
was  a  certain  result  of  time,  however  the  first  struggle  might 
end.  Back  of  that,  there  were  events  of  higher  interest  and 
wider  and  more  varied  influences.  Those  which  decided  the 
character  of  our  civilization  ;  those  which  determined  what 
kind  of  people  should  govern  this  continent  when  it  should  be 
free  from  European  control.  For  more  than  a  century  it  was 
uncertain  if  French  or  English  manners,  cust')ms,  and  laws 
should  dominate  here.  For  more  than  a  century  the  doubtful 
struggle  was  carried  on  under  circumstances  of  the  most  ro- 
mantic interest.     Besides  the  force  of  arms   and  the  art   of 


146  THE   GEE  AT   CONQUEST. 

diplomacy,  religious  influences  were  actively  engnged.  The 
future  of  the  continent  was  involved  in  the  course  of  European 
events.  The  wars  of  Louis  the  Great  and  the  victories  of 
Marlborough,  altliough  they  made  great  changes  in  the 
balance  of  power  in  Europe,  were  followed  by  far  greater  and 
more  lasting  results  in  America.  This  contest  between  the 
great  powers  was  fc-lt  in  every  part  of  our  continent. 

"  On  the  one  hand,  the  English  settlements  were  the  most 
populous  ;  but,  on  the  other,  the  French  held  the  interior  of  the 
country.  If  they  could  retain  what  they  claimed  by  right  of 
discovery,  the  English  would  be  hemmed  in  along  the  sea- 
coast,  where  no  powerful  nationality  could  be  founded.  The 
Fi-ench  demanded,  by  right  of  discovery,  all  the  confluent 
rivers  of  the  Mississij^pi  and  St.  Lawrence  valleys,  which 
would  give  them  the  regions  west  of  the  Alleghanies  and  a 
large  part  of  our  own  State. 

"To  oppose  this  claim,  the  Biitish  took  the  ground  that  the 
vast  territory  in  dispute  was  held  by  the  Iroquois  by  right  of 
conquest,  and  that  their  alliance  with  the  British  Government 
brought  to  it  the  region  thus  gained  by  their  Indian  allies  by  the 
force  of  their  arms.  The  dwellers  upon  these  hills  and  in  these 
valleys  aromid  us  were  thus  made  the  arbiters  to  decide  what 
type  of  civilization,  what  form  of  government,  should  prevail 
on  this  continent.  Both  of  the  European  parties  felt  the  pow- 
er and  rights  of  the  Five  Nations,  and  they  saw,  too,  that 
these  Indians  held  in  these  hills  the  stronghold  of  this  field  of 
contest.  Both  of  these  proud,  kingly  governments  were  suitors 
for  the  friendship  of  these  savage  tribes.  Both  put  forth  every 
effort  of  power  and  diplomacy  for  a  long  series  of  years  to  gain 
the  alliance  of  the  Eomans  of  the  West.  There  is  nothing  in 
the  colonial  histories  of  other  States  to  compare  in  interest 
v/ith  the  annals  of  this  region  as  they  are  recorded  in  the 
Fi'ench,  Dutch,  and  English  documents.  In  no  other  section 
were  there  events  of  such  importance  or  of  such  far-reaching 
consequence. 


EVANGELIZATION  OF  THE  AMERICAN  INDIANS.  147 

"  The  influence  of  the  other  colonies  would  have  been  of  little 
value  if  the  French  had  been  the  victors  in  this  CDiitest;  tlioy 
■\voulcI  not  have  had  the  broad  arena  of  the  United  States,  as 
they  now  extend  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  on  which 
their  teachings  or  examples  could  work  out  these  results. 
While  the  long  and  droadfal  struggle  went  on,  the  most  influ- 
ential allies  of  the  French  were  their  missionaries,  who,  ani- 
mated alike  by  religious  and  patriotic  zeal,  traversed  the  wild- 
est regions  on  the  borders  of  the  Mississippi  and  the  great  lakes, 
and  encountered,  unarmed,  in  their  solitary  wanderings,  all  the 
dangers  of  intercourse  with  hitherto  nnkno\vu  savage  ti  ibes. 
It  was  upon  the  Iroquois  that  they  exerted  their  utmost  influ- 
ences. One  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago  they  were  act^ive 
among  these  hills  and  in  the  valleys  which  we  now  overlook. 
Although  in  many  instances  they  suffered  the  most  cruel 
deaths  at  the  hands  of  the  Indians,  they  persevered  in  their 
efl:brts  to  bring  tliem  over  to  the  faith  of  their  Church  and  the 
support  of  their  government.  All  of  them  were  educated  men, 
and  some  were  of  the  noble  families  of  France. 

"  When  their  labors  were  ended  by  the  extinction  of  French 
power  on  this  continent,  the  first  to  enter  the  field  of  their 
sulFerings  and  toils  was  the  missionary  Kirkland.  In  the  same 
spirit  of  religious  zeal,  patriotic  devotion,  and  heroic  daring, 
he  went  out  on  his  solitary  pathway  to  the  savage  homes  of  the 
wilderness.  More  fortunate  than  those  who  went  before  him, 
his  religious  teachings  took  root  and  have  never  lierished. 
More  fortunate  than  his  predecessors  in  another  respect,  he  was 
able  to  render  efficient  support  to  his  country's  cause,  for  he, 
like  them,  had  to  mingle  patriotic  duties  with  religious  labor. 

"He  held  the  Oneidas  from  joining  the  armies  of  Britain  in 
the  Revolutionary  war,  and  after  the  establishment  of  our  in- 
dependence he  did  much  to  restrain  the  whole  confederacy  from 
taking  part  in  the  general  onslaught  of  the  Indians  on  the  west- 
ern borders  of  our  settlements.  However  much  those  mission- 
aries differed  in  nationality  and  creed,  the  story  of  their  com-' 


148  THE    GKEAT   CONQUEST. 

mon  zeal,  heroism,  and  devotion  will  ever  make  one  of  the 
most  fascinating  chapters  in  the  history  of  religious  suffering 
and  labor." 

The  work  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  among  the  Indians 
should  find  peculiar  encouragement  in  the  fact  that  in  the  few 
years  past  it  has  realized  remarkable  successes.  The  number  of 
communicants  in  the  Indian  churches  of  the  Presbyterian  Board 
(not  including  the  Missions  transferred  from  the  American 
Board)  has  increased  from  sixty-seven  members  to  eleven  hun- 
dred and  eighty-nine,  which  is  a  gain  of  nearly  eighteen-fold. 

Remarkable  as  this  growth  has  been,  there  is  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  it  might  have  been  greater  still  but  for  the  political 
difficulties  which  have  embarrassed  the  work,  and  the  irritations 
which  have  sometimes  arisen  along  the  border. 

In  order  to  the  highest  success  there  is  also  need  of  a  more 
general  and  more  intelligent  interest  throughout  the  Church. 
There  should  be  more  of  sympathy  and  more  of  prayer. 

There  are  multitudes  who  are  not  even  aware  that  the  care 
of  the  Indians  is  intrusted  to  the  Foreign  Board  ;  many  per- 
sons have  the  impression  that  they  are  wholly  provided  for  by 
Homo  Mission  Boards.  But  the  Presbyterian  Church  re- 
sards  all  Indian  reservations — even  those  of  Western  New  York 
— as  foreign  fields.  "When,  therefoi'e,  the  claims  of  thase  wild  . 
"  heathen  at  home  "  are  urged  as  an  argument  against  Foreign 
Missions,  as  has  been  done  by  some  writer  in  a  New  York 
secular  paper,  the  effect  is  not  to  help  them,  but  rather  to  dry 
up  the  only  sources  from  which  the  waters  of  Life  now  flow  fur 
their  relief. 

The  heathen  of  Oregon  or  New  Mexico  are  not  to  be  set  in 
jealous  comparison  with  those^of  Africa  or  of  China,  for  all 
alike  are  supplied  from  the  same  treasury. 

There  is  need,  not  only  of  a  more  general  intelligence  in  re- 
gard to  these  people,  but  also,  in  many  localities,  at  least,  of 
more  Christian  magnanimity.      Surely  a  great  and  strong  peo- 
'ple  can  afford  to  exercise  patience  with  the  few  remnants  of 
tribes  whom  they  have  dispossessed.     Let  there  be  a  strong 


DIVERSITY    EST   MISSIONARY    ORGANIZATIONS.  149 

hand  of  control  that  shall  constrain  them  to  keep  the  peace,  but 
let  liuman  pity  and  the  divine  compassion  of  the  Gospel  bo 
shown  them,  even  as  a  father  gives  good  gifts  to  his  children. 

The  time  will  come,  and  at  no  distant  day,  when  the  last  In- 
dian outbreak  will  have  occurred  and  even  been  forgotten; 
when  the  last  rood  of  a  lost  heritage  will  be  left  to  the  undis- 
turbed possession  of  the  white  man;  when  the  cupidity  of 
agents  will  be  no  longer  tempted;  when  whiskey,  and  corrupting 
vice,  and  manifold  fraud,  and  cruelty  will  have  done  their  work, 
and  the  aboriginal  tiibes  of  the  continent  will  have  gone  forever. 
Then,  all  irritation  having  ceased,  the  conscience  of  the  nation, 
if  any  be  lefl,  will  relent  and  react,  and  there  will  rise  up  be- 
fore lis  a  strange  history,  every  trace  of  which  will  be  carefully 
gleaned  and  cherished.  The  poetry  and  the  simple,  weird,  and 
rather  elevated  faith  of  the  Indian,  as  well  as  his  sad  and  pas- 
sionate eloquence,  will  be  pleasantly  remembered.  The  long 
struggle  against  the  fatal  onset  of  an  uncongenial  civilization 
will  cover  itself  with  the  mellower  light  of  sad  romance,  and 
those  pathetic  woi'ds,  "Lo  the  poor  Indian,"  will  no  longer  call 
forth  the  jeers  of  hard  and  unscrupulous  men.  Justice  to  the 
Indian — at  least  to  his  memory — will  surely  be  done  at  last  ; 
and  then  it  will  be  an  honor  to  the  Christian  Church  if  it  shall  be 
said  of  her,  "  She  hath  done  what  she  could."  She  still  has 
golden  opportunities  fur  good.  Let  her  earnest  efforts  be  put 
forth  for  the  scattered  tribes ;  let  her  sympathy  never  be 
doubted  by  the  red  man  ;  let  her  prayers  ascend,  that  a  great 
multitude  may  be  won  to  that  better  inheritance  from  which, 
significantly  enough  to  them,  they  shall  never  be  removed. 


XXYI. 

DIVERSITY  IN  ]\nSSION"AEY  ORGANIZATIONS. 

Whether  the  divisions  of  the  Protestant  Christian  Church  be 
favorable  or  unfavorable  to  its  progress  in  the  world,  the  fact 


150  THE   GEEAT   CONQUEST. 

of  its  separate  organizations  must  be  accepted,  and  its  opera- 
tions for  the  spread  of  the  Gospel  must  necessarily  be  conducted 
through  its  existing  channels. 

The  idea  of  union  in  Mission  work  is  a  very  plausible  one;  and 
withal  so  popular  among  those  only  partially  informed,  that  it 
requires  no  little  moral  courage  to  advocate  the  advantages  of 
separate  organic  action.  The  difficulty  of  uniting  a  score  of 
missionary  organizations  in  the  support  and  joint  control  of  a 
common  work,  does  not  at  first  occur  to  the  mind. 

To  the  eye  of  an  outside  observer  who  knows  little  of  the 
practical  working  of  missionary  operations — the  raising  of 
funds  for  equipment  and  support,  the  administration  of  affairs 
with  the  best  economy  and  in  accordance  with  the"  wisdom  and 
experience  gained  on  many  fields,  the  judicious  selection  of 
means  and  methods,  and  the  harmonizing  of  laborers  repre- 
senting diverse  views  either  of  doctrines  or  of  policy — it  seems 
a  plausible  theoiy  that  all  misaionary  boards  and  societies 
should  simply  contribute  their  funds  to  a  common  work,  and 
not  attempt  anything  like  administration  or  control. 

In  that  event,  the  management  of  affiiirs  must  be  left  either 
to  the  native  churches  or  to  the  collective  body  of  missionaries 
on  the  ground.  If  to  the  former,  it  would  be  very  much  like 
submitting  the  government  of  an  infant  school  or  an  orphan 
asylum  to  the  children  themselves.  So  far  as  native  Christians 
in  any  land  grow  in  experience  and  the  power  of  self-support, 
they  should  be  taught  to  judge  and  act  for  themselves  ;  but  to 
leave  them  to  direct  a  work  wholly  sustained  by  others,  simply 
supplying  funds  at  their  dictation,  were  preposterous.  Nor 
can  there  be  anything  more  baneful  to  their  own  best  good  than 
to  teach  them  false  notions  of  independence,  while  in  fact  they 
are  dependent  for  all  things. 

Everything  should  tend  to  the  ultimate  establishment  of 
strong  and  independent  national  churches  in  all  lands.  But 
whatever  shall  make  mission  work  most  effective  in  its  present 
stages  will  best  promote  that  end. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  the  management  of  various  missions 


DIVERSITY    IK   MISSIONAKY   ORGANIZATIONS.  151 

were  left  to  the  united  cmmcils  of  the  missionaries  of  various 
boards,  some  difiicult  probUuus  would  arise. 

For  example,  would  American  Methodists  and  Scotch  Pres- 
byterians be  likely  to  agree  in  the  adoption  of  a  Confession  of 
Faith;  or  would  Baptists  and  Episcopalians  harmonize  on  ques- 
tions of  Church  order? 

There  are  peculiarities  of  the  missionary  enterprise  which 
sometimes  render  it  difficult  to  harmonize  the  operations  even  of  a 
single  mission.  The  work  of  several  persons  at  a  given  station 
is  a  joint  work. 

It  is  as  if  three  or  four  churches  and  a  half  dozen  schools, 
with  a  printing-press  and  an  orphanage  in  some  American  town, 
were  all  united  under  one  administration,  each  preacher  and 
teacher  and  printer  having  something  to  say  about  the  work  of 
another.  We  know  of  no  communily  in  which  we  should  be 
likely  to  find  grace  enough  for  entire  harmony  under  these  cir- 
cumstances. Yet  such  is  the  nature  of  Foreign  mission  work. 
Let  us  then  muliiply  these  complications  by  throwing  together 
the  representatives  of  several  missions  with  all  their  extended 
and  complex  entei'prises,  all  tlieir  differences  of  nationality, 
creed,  Church  order,  habits  of  thought,  training,  prejudice,  and 
temperament  ;  and  one  can  easily  imagine  the  harmony  of  plan 
and  effort  which  they  would  be  likely  to  attain. 

•Barnabas  and  Saul  once  agreed  to  work  separately,  as  most 
likely  to  insure  harmony  of  spirit  ;  and  Abraham  long  before, 
advised  the  separation  of  Lot's  herds  from  his  own,  in  order 
that  there  might  be  peace. 

And  precisely  this  same  principle  has  been  illustrated  again 
and  again  in  the  last  fifty  years  of  missionary  effort.  It  is  a 
significant  fact,  that  as  Christian  denominations  have  come  to 
work  more  and  more  through  their  own  organizations,  they 
have  become  more  and  more  harmonious  ;  and  on  the  mis- 
sion fields  as  well  as  at  home,  they  have  attained  a  far  greater 
degree  of  real  union. 

In  place  of  the  conti-oversial  spirit  which  prevailed  between 
denominations  twenty-five  years  ago,  the  Evangelical  AUiance 


152  THE    GKEAT   CONQUEST. 

presents  to  the  world  the  true  union  of  the  Church — union  with 
freedom,  union  in  diversity.  The  Allahabad  Conference,  held 
in  India  by  the  representatives  of  twenty  different  Mission 
Boards,  has  illustrated  the  same  principle  in  the  presence  of 
the  heathen.  And  a  similar  Conference  is  now  to  be  held  by 
the  missionaries  of  all  names  in  China. 

We  venture  to  say  that  such  a  union — one  which  allows  lib- 
erty to  all,  while  they  gladly  unite  on  the  great  essentials — 
presents  a  far  more  impressive  spectacle  to  the  heathen,  and  a 
far  better  evidence  of  the  oneness  of  the  Gospel,  than  any  mere 
constrained  uniformity  of  organization  could  do,  even  were  it 
possible. 

We  go  still  further,  and  claim  that  the  diversity  of  sects,  and 
of  well-conducted  and  compact  organizations,  instead  of  being  a 
hindrance  to,  is*  conducive  of,  the  highest  success  of  Missions. 
As  a  well-organized  army,  with  divisions  and  corps  and  regi- 
ments, is  better  than  a  heterogeneous  mob  in  the  day  of  battle, 
so  will  the  various  Christian  denominations,  by  a  proper  division 
of  labor,  and  an  assumption  of  definite  responsibilities,  accom- 
plish far  more  for  the  heathen,  than  if  laboring  together  in  one 
unwieldy  mass,  and  under  one  impracticable  organization. 

The  most  plausible  objection  which  has  been  made  against 
denominational  Mission  work  is  that  the  distinction  of  sects  is 
a  stone  of  stumbling  to  the  natives  and  an  offence  to  foretgn 
residents. 

The  plea  has  generally  been  urged  most  strenuously  by  ex- 
treme Ritualists  who  ignore  all  churches  but  their  own,  or  by 
those  who  had  committed  themselves  to  a  particular  scheme  of 
union. 

It  so  happens,  however,  that  the  testimony  of  those  who  have 
had  the  most  extensive  opportunities  lor  observation,  neutral- 
izes the  cbjection.     Heathen  systems  also  embrace  diversities. 

By  the  common  verdict  of  several  leading  newspapers  of 
India,  the  spectacle  of  the  Missionary  Conference  in  Decem- 
ber, 1872,  went  far  to  enhance  the  respect  of  all  men  for  the 
real  unity  of  the  Christian  Church.      A  salutary  impression 


THE    CKITICISMS    OF   TRAVELE14S.  153 

was  made  upon  the  people  and  upon  the  Indian  .Govern- 
ment, A  British  "  Review,"  hi  speaking  of  an  official  re- 
port of  the  Government,  to  which  we  refer  elsewliere,  says 
of  this  harmony  :  "  The  divisions  and  differences  pf  opinion 
prevailing  amongst  Christians  in  India,  do  not  appear  to  us 
to  impede  the  spread  of  Christi:inity  in  so  considerable  a  de- 
gree as  has  sometimes  been  supposed."  And  the  Govern- 
ment reportitself  says  of  the  missionaries:  "  Though  belonging 
to  various  denominations  of  Christians,  yet  from  the  nature  of 
their  work,  their  isolated  position,  and  their  long  experience, 
they  have  been  led  to  think  rather  of  the  nunierous  questions 
on  which  they  agree,  than  of  those  on  which  they  differ  ;  and 
they  co-operate  heartily  together.  Localities  are  divided  among 
them  by  friendly  arrangements,  and  with  few  exceptions  it  is  a 
fixed  rule  among  them  that  they  will  not  interfere  with  each 
other's  converts  and  each  other's  spheres  of  duty." 


XXYII. 

THE    CRITICISaiS  OF  TRAVELERS  UPON  THE 
MISSION  WORK. 

Even  Christians  are,  no  doubt,  a  little  stumbled  sometimes 
by  the  hostile  representations  which  a  certain  class  of  travelers 
give  of  their  "  personal  observations  "  of  missionaries  and  their 
work.  There  is  great  apparent  force  in  the  plea,  "  We  liave 
been  there,  and  we  know  all  about  it."  Those  who  have  not 
"been  there,'' can,  of  course,  make  no  reply  to  a  testimony 
which  seems  so  direct  and  so  authoritative. 

But  evidence  on  such  subjects  should  be  valued  in  some  de- 
gree according  to  its  source.  It  might  be  asked,  "  What  kind 
of  an  opinion  would  these  same  witnesses  give  in  regard  to  the 
character  of  Christians  and  Christian  efforts  in  our  own  coun- 
try? "  What  is  the  attitude  of  then:  minds  in  regard  to  the 
whole  subject  ? 


154  THE   GEEAT   CONQUEST. 

It  sTxould  further  be  coasidered,  that  there  is  an  intrinsic 
improbability  in  the  supposition  that  some  hundreds  of  mis- 
sionaries of  different  societies  Vv-ould  consphe  to  keep  up  so 
hollow  an  imposture  as  some  of  the  above-named  writers 
describe.  There  are  scores  of  these  men  who  could  claim 
much  higher  and  more  lucrative  positions  in  their  own  land. 
If  the  Mission  work  is  useless,  why  sacrifice  a  lifetime  in  its 
pursuit?  If  the  converts  are  all  impostors,  and  the  whole 
affair  is  a  waste  of  time  and  strength,  why  endui'e  unwholesome 
cUmates  and  a  separation  from  friends,  and  even  from  their 
own  young  children,  in  order  to  keep  up  the  farce  ? 

There  is,  prima  facie,  another  improbability  in  the  case ; 
viz.,  that  so  many  JNIission  Boards  and  Societies  composed  of 
wise  and  able  men  who  study  with  much  care  the  whole  oper- 
ation of  missionary  enterprise,  would  lend  their  sanction  to 
the  flagrant  abuses  which  are  allege  1  to  exist. 

These  societies  are  familiar  with  every  item  of  expenditure; 
and  they  know  Avell  what  should  be  a  proper  allowance  for 
each  department  of  work,  and  what  results  should  be  ex- 
pected. 

The  EngUsh  societies  havestill^better  opportunities  for  gain- 
ing information  from  the  mission  fields,  especially  from  India, 
than  those  of  this  country  ;  but  in  both  countries,  represen- 
tatives of  all  the  leading  organizations  have  been  sent  out  to 
observe  the  JNIission  work  carefully.  Where  the  ordinary 
traveler  has  made  a  transient  call  upon  a  missionary  of  an 
hom-'s  duratifjn,  or,  as  in  many  cases,  has  not  even  seen  either 
the  laborers  or  their  work,  these  members  of  the  societies  con- 
cerned have  spent  days  and  weeks,  and  sometimes  months,  in 
looking  into  every  department  of  work,  and  have  been  wit- 
nesses of  the  inner  life  of  the  mission  famihes. 

To  impeach  the  Mission  work  on  the  field,  therefore,  is  to 
impeach  the  wisdom,  if  not  the  integrity,  of  the  Societies  and 
Boards  themselves. 

There  is  x^robably  no  case  in  which  the  weight  of  evidence  is 
so  strikingly  disr'egarded,  as  when  the  best  experience,  garnered 


THE   CRITICISMS    OF   TRAVELERS.  155 

in  tlie  ^Mission  cause  for  half  a  century,  is  set  aside  on  tlio 
ignorant  assertion  of  somebody  wlio  recently  visited  some 
station  for  a  day  or  two,  and  heard  the  criticisms  of  the 
street.  How  little  opportunity'  have  men  of  no  sj^mpathy  with 
the  work  to  judge  of  its  character! 

A  foreign  traveler  visiting  New  York  would  form  but  a  very 
inadequate  notion  of  its  religions  interests,  unless  he  had  some 
sympathy  and  affiliation  with  Christian  people.  A  delegate 
of  the  Scotch  General  Assembly  might,  in  a  few  weeks, 
gather  up  many  facts,  and  reach  some  just  conclusions  fi'ora 
those  with  whom  he  would  naturally  assort.  But  a  member 
of  a  London  sporting  fraternity,  spending  a  month  or  a 
year  at  the  New  York  club-houses,  or  a  German  infidel, 
living  at  the  hotels,  and  only  visiting  the  German  Consulate, 
M'ouLJ  be  able  to  say  ver}'^  little  of  the  progress  of  the  New 
Y'ork  Baptists,  or  of  the  statistics  of  the  New  York  Pres- 
bytery, Accepting  the  wholesale  denunciation  of  those  with 
whom  he  fraternized,  he  would  probably  declare  in  general 
terms  that  the  rehgious  lifo  of  the  country  was  a  sham,  that 
the  clergy  were  a  set  of  knaves,  and  the  Church  member- 
ship a  herd  of  hypocrites. 

There  is  probably  not  a  community  in  the  United  States,  in 
whicli  this  style  of  verdict  would  not  be  given  by  the  haters 
and  opposers  of  the  local  Churches. 

But  in  a  city  like  Yokohama  or  Shanghai,  the  proportion 
of  irreligious  men  is,  for  obvious  reasons,  far  greater  than  in 
old  settled  communities  at  home.  The  population  is  made 
up  of  adventurers  from  all  lands.  There  are  no  conventional 
restraints :  there  is  no  Sabbath:  there  are  few  Clmstian  homes. 
There  is  always  a  lax  state  of  morals.  Christian  institu- 
tions being  yet  in  embryo,  exhibit  very  little  social  power, 
and  therefore  do  not  inspire  that  respect  which  is  akin  to 
fear,  and  a  politic  regard  for  decency.  Irrehgiou  feels  strong 
and  assured,  and  bears  only  the  most  cordial  hatred  to- 
ward those  whose  teachings  are  a  standing  rebuke  to  free 
and  licentious  lives. 


l^b  THE    GREAT   COXQUEST. 

It  must  be  expected,  therefore,  that  the  representations 
made  by  a  certain  class  of  travelers  in  Japan  or  China  will 
be  totally  different  from  the  accounts  given  by  American 
missionaries  and  teachers,  and  abundantly  corroborated  by 
such  careful  and  discriminating  observers  as  Dr.  E.  D.  G. 
Prime  and  Prof.  Seelye. 

As  the  good  work  goes  forward,  these  contradictions  will 
continue — at  least  until  the  same  change  shaE  have  been 
wrought  as  in  India,  where,  after  a  still  worse  opposition  at 
the  first,  there  is  now  a  general  acknowledgment  of  the 
blessed  results  of  IMissions, 

Meanwhile  Christian  people,  finding  in  the  current  liter- 
ature the  same  contradictions  with  regard  to  Missions  as 
with  regard  to  all  other  religious  questions,  even  to  the 
fundamental  truths  of  Chiistianity,  must  decide  which  ver- 
dict to  accept. 

There  is,  however,  one  class  of  travelers  whose  statements 
deserve  a  separate  consideration.  They  are  mostly  young  men — 
in  some  cases  mere  boys,  who  have  made  voyages  fur  health 
or  for  a  Isnowledge  of  the  world.  Tliey  arc  sons  of  Christian 
men  in  some  instances,  and  have  no  prejudice  against  Chris- 
tianity or  Christian  Missions.  But  they  are  inexperienced  and 
impressible,  and  they  simply  reflect  the  opinions  and  repeat 
the  stock  criticisms  of  residents  Avhom  they  have  chanced  to 
meet.  Since  my  return  from  China  and  India,  in  1875,  I  have 
heard  from  such  sources  some  of  the  very  same  rumors  which  I 
had  sifted  thoroughly  wliile  on  the  ground. 

On  all  the  Pacific  Mail  steamers  adverse  opinions  on  mis- 
sionary topics  are  furnished  to  travelers  by  officers  and  men  ; 
and  almost  uniformly  they  arj  ill-.^ounded.  A  few  years  ago, 
an  American  Consul  in  Japan  having  tried  in  vain  to  get  posses- 
sion of  some  city  lots  belonging  to  a  Mission  Board,  took  j^ains 
to  post  up  in  the  passage-ways  of  some  of  the  steamers  a  placard 
which   so  grossly  misrepresented  the  Mission   Work  that  the 

American    Minister,   Mr. ,    exposed    the  outrage.     Many 

persons   who   follow  the  sea,  or  who   go  out  as  adventurers 
to     foreign     ports,    have    so    little    comprehension    of    the 


THE  SPECIFIC  OBJECTIONS  COMMONLY  MADE.  157 

high  motives  which  inspire  the  missionary,  that  they 
assume  that  pecuniary  gain  must  lie  at  the  hot* cm. 
Like  the  Duke  of  Somerset,  whose  speech  in  Parlia- 
ment is  quoted  by  Dr.  Duff,  they  assume  that  in  the  nature  of 
the  case  a  missionary  must  be  "either  a  fool  or  a  knave,  and 
probably  the  latter."  "  Tell  me  honestly,"  said  the  captain  of 
the  steamer  '/Alaska  "  to  me  one  day  on  our  voyage  across  the 
Pacific,  "  do  not  the  missionaries  in  China  all  carry  on  some 
outside  speculation  in  connecticm  with  their  work?"  And 
when  I  informed  him  that  the  rules  of  the  Presbyterian  Board 
forbade  all  emoluments,  and  that  if  in  any  exceptional  case  a 
missionary  rendered  temporary  service  as  an  interpreter,  he 
was  expected  to  account  for  the  amount  received  to  the  mis- 
sion treasurer ;  that  to  my  personal  knowledge  the  mission- 
aries were  receiving  only  $900  to  $1,000 — a  third  or  a  fourth 
of  the  salaries  of  clerks  and  interpreters — and  that  many  of 
them  had  declined  lucrative  positions  for  the  sake  of  their 
work ;  he  S'^emed  amazed,  not  to  say  incredulous. 

Perhaps  in  no  country  is  there  so  much  niisiepresentation  of 
missionaries  as  in  Japan.  And  yet  there  stands  the  monu- 
mental fact  that  men  of  the  first  order  of  talent  labor  on  in  the 
work  of  different  Mission  Boards  at  a  salary  of  $1,000,  while 
mere  youth  who  have  barely  attained  their  majority  receive 
from  $3,000'  to  $3,500  as  teachers  in  the  Government  schools. 
What  if  it  were  found  that  the  ministry  in  our  American 
churches  were  all  proof  against  calls  to  college  professorships 
at  three  or  four  times  their  present  salaries  1  Would  that  not 
be  hailed  as  a  grand  attestation  of  Christian  character  ? 


XXYIII. 

THE  SPECIFIC   OBJECTIOiNS  COxMMONLY  MADE. 

(1.)  "  The  Heathen  are  too  degraded  to  be  christianized,^''  say 
some :  "  They  are  quite  as  good  Christians  as  we  are"  say 
others,  "  and  need  none  of  our  j^roselyling.^' 


158  THE   GREAT   CONQUEST. 

The  Oliinesc,  it  is  claimed,  are  too  materialistic  and  time- 
serving, the  Hindus  are  too  dreamy  and  Pantheistic,  and 
some  of  the  lower  tribes  of  the  American  forests  and  the 
South  African  wustfs  are  too  low  in  the  scale  of  intellect,  and 
too  absolutely  wild  and  bestial,  ever  to  receive  the  gospel  in 
spirit  and  in  truth.  It  is  maintained  that  the  genius  of 
Christianity  is  not  suited  to  th;  se  races;  but  is  fit  only  for  the 
Caucasian.  "  Leave  the  African  to  his  feUch,"  it  is  said,  "  and 
the  Chinese  to  his  ancestral  tablets,  and  waste  no  mistaken 
missionary  zeal  upon  them."  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  claimed 
by  another  class  that  the  heathen,  or  many  of  them,  are  so 
high  in  the  scale  ot  intellect,  and  so  pure  in  morals,  that  they 
need  no  help  or  sympathy  from  us  ;  that  they  were  civilized 
while  we  were  yet  savages;  and  that  their  ancient  books  were 
the  original  sources  of  ours. 

Thus,  as  the  one  argument  runs,  the  Mission  work  is 
hopeless  ;  while  objecters  of  an  opposite  class  reach  the  easy- 
conclusion  that  Missions  are  superfluous  and  useless. 

Now  evidently  both  these  lines  of  objection  cannot  be  well 
founded.  They  are  at  war  with  each  other.  They  are  both 
general  and  sweeping,  while  evidently  based  on  partial  obser- 
vation. What  is  true  of  one  race  may  not  be  true  of  another; 
but  neither  of  these  objections  is  true  of  any  race.  It  has 
been  demonstrated  repeatedly  that  the  gosi^el  is  adapt- 
ed to  all  latitudes  and  climates,  to  all  ranks  and  stations  in 
life,  to  all  grades  of  intellect,  to  all  habits  of  thought  or  belief. 

Even  if  there  were  races  who  Avere  without  conscience  and 
moral  susceptibility,  it  would  still  be  worth  the  experiment 
to  undertake  Mission  work  among  the  children,  in  the  hope 
that  (hey  could  be  educated  up  to  the  requisite  standard  ;  but 
the  truth  is,  that  the  torpid  Esquimaux  and  the  cannibals  of 
the  South  Seas  have  alike  evinced  a  truly  apostolic  piety; 
while  such  names  as  Africaner  and  Sechele  of  South  Africa 
have  gained  high  places  in  the  annals  of  noble  Christian  char- 
acter. 


THE  SPECIFIC  OBJECTIONS  COMMONLY  MADE.  159 

As  to  the  assertion  thut  heathen  or  Moslem  races  are  above 
the  need  of  Christian  teaching  or  Cliristiau  ethics,  no  one  who 
has  had  personal  observation  would  ever  make  it.  Except 
wliere  it  is  lield  in  check  by  Christian  civilization,  the  degra- 
dation of  Oriental  countries  is  essentially  what  it  was  when 
Paul  wrote  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans.  The  horrible  vice  of 
sodomy  is  prevalent  in  all  Mohammedan  countries.  And  in 
visiting  the  Hindu  temples  at  lienares,  and  observing  the 
hideous  monkey  worship,  the  filth  of  the  bull  temples  and 
the  sacred  well  (whose  cesspool  waters  are  eagerly  druni<  by 
the  people),  and  the  nameless  mystery  of  the  lingam,  one  can 
find  no  epithet  short  of  downright  vileness  that  will  reprc'sent 
the  case. 

(2.)  "  Our  oion  race  is  more  important  to  the  progress  of  the 
Redeemer's  Kingdom  than  other  races,  and  therefore  our  efforts 
shoidd  he  mainly  given  to  the  Anglo-Saxon. 

It  is  maintained  that  what  Isiael  was  to  the  old  world,  this 
"  Newly-Chosen  People  "  is  and  is  to  be,  in  the  economy  of  this 
age  of  progress.  Without  raising  the  question  whether  any 
such  special  regard  is  had  for  the  American  Republic  in  the 
plans  of  God,  or  whether  the  tendencies  which  now  strangely 
combine  their  promise  and  their  threatenings  are  clear  tokens 
of  a  chosen  people,  it  might  be  well  to  consider  that  the  par- 
allel with  the  Jewish  nation  has  something  of  j^ortent  as  well 
as  of  assurance.  A  narrow  policy,  dedroyed  the  Jews;  a  selfish 
conceit  which  led  to  irreverence  toward  God  and  contempt 
for  their  fellow-men  led  at  last  to  their  abandonment.  Their 
heritage  was  given  to  the  Gentiles ;  and  the  very  land  which 
gave  the  world  its  Saviour  and  its  Word  of  Life  is  now  a 
needy  Foreign  Mission  field. 

Let  it  not  be  forgotten  that  this  most  f  ivored  people  may, 
through  a  naiTOw  and  selfish  policy  be  given  iip  to  worldli- 
ness  and  scepticism,  and  even  to  anarchy  and  rnin. 

This  great  naticn  has  appropi'iated  the  resources,  and  prof- 
ited by  the  wisdom,  gained  from  all  lands.     It  is  debtor  to 


160  THE   GREAT  CONQrEST. 

the  world;  and  only  on  the  highest  and  holiest  principles  can 
its  destiny  he  fulfilled. 

(3.)  "  Ou7'  Foreign  missionaries  emjyloy  numerous  servaiits 
and  live  in  luxury." 

If  it  is  the  best  economy  to  employ  natives  at  a  few 
pence  a  week  to  perform  menial  services,  and  allow  mis- 
sionaries, male  and  female,  to  engage  in  those  duties  which 
have  led  them  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  shall  it  not  be  done"? 
In  lands  where  there  are  no  schools  or  Christian  influences,  a 
missionary's  wife  will  make  the  best  use  of  her  time  by  teach- 
ing women  and  children.  Nothing  is  more  absurd  than  to  in- 
stitute comparisons  in  this  respect  between  the  families  of 
Home  and  Foreign  missionaries.  Here  schools  are  abundant 
and  servants'  wages  are  high.  In  heathen  lands  servants  are 
abundant*and  cheap,  while  schools  do  not  exist.  The  best 
economy  in  the  one  case  would  be  the  poorest  in  the  other. 

As  to  the  general  style  of  living,  only  a  mere  subsistence 
salary  is  allowed,  and  in  very  many  cases  it  is  found  to  be 
insufficient  for  health  and  efficiency. 

There  are,  however,  those  on  the  Foreign  field,  as  among 
the  ministry  at  home,  who  have  means  of  their  own,  and  who 
are  accustomed  to  supplement  their  salaries  for  the  sake  of 
greater  comfort  to  their  families.  I  have  now  in  mind  no  less 
than  twelve  missionaries  of  the  Presbyterian  Board,  who 
each  year  expend  from  $200  to  $1,000 of  their  own  resources. 
These  all  happen  to  be  situated  at  prominent  points,  where 
travelers  most  resort.  They  may  be  found  at  Yokohama  and 
Tokio,  at  Chefoo  and  Canton,  at  Allahabad  and  Dehra,  and 
Lahore,  in  Valparaiso,  and  the  City  of  Mexico  ;  while  in  Bei- 
rut, most  conspicuous  of  all,  it  so  happens  that  not  one  of  our 
missionaries  is  hving  on  his  mission  salary.  And  yet,  upon  a 
few  such  cases,  a  superficial  adverse  judgment  is  based.  No 
mention  is  ever  made  of  the  salaries  paid  or  the  style  of  li^dng 
in  the  Dakotah  mission,  or  at  the  Gaboon,  or  in  the  interior 
of  Persia.     No  invidious  comparisons  are  drawn  between  the 


THE  SPECIFIC  OBJECTIONS  COlVmONLY  MADE.  161 

self-derdfils  endured  by  ministers  on  our  frontier  and  those  ex- 
perience! beyond  the  frontier,  in  the  Indian  Territory  and 
among  the  Nez  Perces.  But  one  or  two  instances  from  the 
most  expensive  missions  are  seized  upon  for  a  sweeping  cavil. 

If  comparisons  are  to  be  made  at  all,  which  is  more  than 
questionable,  they  should  place  city  against  city,  and  country 
against  country.  Foreign  missionary  salaries  in  Yokohama, 
or  Mexico,  or  Valijaraiso,  should  be  compared  with  missionary 
salaries  in  Clncago,  or  Pittsburgh,  or  St.  Louis ;  while  the  rural 
districts  of  Kansas  or  Nebraska  should  be  compared  with  those 
of  Dakofcah  or  the  Cherokee  Nation.  I  have  spent  many 
months  among  the  families  of  missionaries  on  their  rcsi^ective 
fields,  and  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that,  as  a  rule,  their  sala- 
ries are  as  low  as  even  a  cold  commercial  prudence — bloodless 
and  heartless — would  consider  the  best  economy.  On  the  same 
principle  that  slaves  and  even  beasts  of  burden  are  preserved 
for  the  longest  service,  the  Church  should  not  begrudge  the 
best  health  of  her  missionaries. 

(4.)   Tlie  houses  of  Missionm'ies  are  '*  very  comfortable.'^ 

This  objection  is  generally  put  in  such  a  way  as  to  imply 
that  missionaries'  homes  should  not  be  comfortable.  It  be- 
trays a  sort  of  sui-prise,  growing  out  of  the  old  notion,  which 
is  still  quite  common,  that  missionary  life  ought  to  be  a 
sort  of  self-immolation.  In  the  early  days  of  the  enterprise, 
the  missionary  was,  to  the  common  apprehension,  about  as 
much  of  a  devotee,  as  the  hook-swingers  and  fakirs  whom 
he  went  forth  to  save.  At  that  time  uuacclimated  men  and 
delicate  women  lived  in  native  houses  which  had  been  built 
with  no  reference  to  the  dangers  to  health  from  dampness  and 
exposure  or  the  poison  of  malaria.  The  sacrifice  of  life  in 
the  mission  circles  was  frightful,  especially  in  Africa  and  parts 
of  India. 

But  wisdom  and  a  true  economy  have  been  learned  from 
sad  experience.  It  is  now  the  policy  of  nearly  all  Boards  to 
provide  houses  of  their  own,  built  for  health. 


162  THE   GREAT   CONQUEST. 

"They  look  substantial,"  says  the  caviller.  And  it  is  true; 
for  they  are  erected  not  for  a  particular  occupant,  but  for 
the  permanent  service  of  the  Church.  In  contrast  with  the 
homes  and  the  churches  of  our  own  country,  they  are  gener- 
ally models  of  plainness  and  economy. 

But  while  the  above  is  a  specimen  of  the  more  common 
cavils  of  those  who  do  not  take  pains  to  know,  there  are  often 

very  different  testimonies  given.     "  I  know  Dr.  very 

well,"  said  an  intelligent  European  resident  to  me,  of  a  cer- 
tain Medical  Missionary.  "  He  might  easily  have  made  a 
fortune  of  $100,000  in  this  city;  and  yet  he  persists  in  living 
in  that  wretched  place  on  |1,000  a  year." 

Mr.  Charles  C.  Cotton,  in  "Oiu-  New  Way  Around  the 
World,"  while  alluding  to  a  visit  which  he  made  to  Bishop 
Williams,  of  the  American  Episcopal  Mission  in  China,  gives 
a  graphic  description  of  the  humble  and  cheerless  quarters  in 
which  he  found  him,  and  the  extreme  plainness  of  his  style  of 
living.  And  he  suggests,  that  if  those  who  imagine  that  the 
habits  of  missionaries  are  luxurious,  could  see  what  he  saw, 
they  would  reach  very  diiferent  conclusions. 

It  may  be  added  that  this  line  of  objection,  like  the  preceding, 
is  based  mainly  upon  a  few  conspicuous  and  exceptional  cases. 
The  best  missionary  houses  in  Japan  are  occupied  by  mission- 
aries of  the  Reformed  Church,  who,  during  the  American  Re- 
belHon,  were  cut  off  from  their  home  support  and  compelled 
to  maintain  themselves  by  teaching  in  the  Government  schools. 
With  their  larger  salaries  they  built  or  purchased  their  own 
houses.  That  they  subsequently  renewed  their  connection 
with  their  Board,  and  resumed  their  mission  work  on  a  mere 
fraction  of  the  compensation  which  they  had  received,  is  over- 
looked by  the  critics ;  while  it  is  assumed  and  published  that 
their  houses  were  "  built  with  the  mites  of  widows  and  or- 
phans," In  some  instances,  as  in  the  Presbyterian  Mission 
at  Chefoo,  missionaries  in  building  houses  for  the  Board,  have 
added  private  funds  iu  order  to  secure  a  gi-eater  degree  of 
comfort. 


THE  SPECIFIC  OBJECTIONS  COIUMONLY  MADE.  1G3 

The  best  mission  house  in  Canton — that  connected  with  the 
hospital  and  occupied  by  a  Presbyterian  missionaiy,  who  has 
largely  entertained  travelers — was  built  wholly  by  members 
and  friends  of  the  Chinese  Medic.d  Society,  and  involved  no 
expense  to  the  Board.  The  house  which  tourists  generally  see 
at  Allahabad,  India,  was  originally  built  for  Government  pur- 
j)oses,  and  afterwards  sold  to  the  mission  at  a  mere  nominal 
price  in  order  to  select  a  more  healthful  site.  IMany  of  the 
stnictures  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  in  Northern  India  were 
built  wholly  or  in  part  by  subscriptions  of  British  residents,  who, 
even  from  the  standpoint  of  charity,  thought  them  not  extravi- 
gaut. 

It  should  not  be  necessaiy  to  make  these  explanations ;  but 
there  is  a  spirit  abroad,  even  in  the  Chui'ch,  which  demands  it. 

(5.)  "//  is  wrong  to  send  so  much  money  out  of  the  country  ivhen 
it  might  be  profilaUy  employed  among  ourselces.'''  The.  low  grade 
of  arguments  for  Missions,  which  are  based  on  their  commer- 
cial value  to  our  own  land,  would  be  unworthy  of  so  great  a 
cause  were  it  not  that  sordid  objections  like  the  above  are  actu- 
ally made  by  professedly  Christian  men.  It  is  a  little  humili- 
ating to  be  compelled  to  consider  the  question  as  expressed  in 
the  hard  parlance  of  the  times  :  "  Do  Missions  pay  ?"  But  we 
cheerfully  answer  it,  in  order  to  meet  an  existing  demand. 

It  has  been  shown  repeatedly  that  our  country  has  derived 
advantages  to  her  commerce  many  fold  greater  than  all  her  out- 
lay for  Missions.  The  safety  of  her  shipping  in  the  South  seas, 
the  handsome  footings  of  her  trade  with  the  Sandwich  Islands, 
with  Turkey  and  South  Africa,  the  favorable  intervention  of 
missionaries  in  Indian  affairs  by  which  tens  of  thousands  of  dol- 
lars have  been  saved  which  would  have  been  expended  in  wars 
like  that  which  was  waged  against  the  Modocs,  the  influence 
which  has  been  exerted  by  missionaries  in  our  diplomatic  affairs, 
as  by  Dr.  King  in  Greece,  and  Hon.  S,  Wells  Williams  in 
China — all  these  things,  taken  in  their  aggregate,  would  far 
exceed  the  sum  total  of  our  missionary  contributions  for  the 
last  half  century. 


164  THE   GREAT   CONQUEST. 

It  is  now  generally  conceded  that  Dr.  Whitman,  missionary  of 
the  American  Board,  was  the  means  of  preventing  our  Govern- 
ment from  exchanging  Oregon  and  Washington  Territories  for 
a  few  coast  fisheries,  and  thus  of  saving  really  the  whole  Pacific 
slope  to  the  American  Republic.  It  has  also  been  shown  in 
a  previous  chapter  that  Rev.  Samuel  Kirkland,  missionary 
among  the  Oneidas,  acted  for  nearly  a  year  for  our  Govern- 
ment as  its  agent  in  securing  the  friendship  of  the  powerful 
Six  Nations  ;  and  that  it  was  largely  due  to  his  influence 
that  they  were  prevented  from  throwing  their  whole  influ- 
ence against  the  cause  of  the  Colonies. 

We  might  proceed  to  enumera':e  the  advantages  which  our 
civilization  has  gained  from  Missions  in  the  various  depart- 
ments of  science,  but  it  would  be  unnecessary. 

Such  lives  as  those  of  Whitman  and  Moffat  and  Livingstone 
are  too  plainly  written  upon  the  whole  progress  of  our  time  to 
need  comment. 

(6.)  "  TJiere  is  a  romance  about  the  work  of  Foreign  Missions 
which  renders  it  specially  attractive.'' 

It  may  be  said,  in  the  first  place,  that  this  assertion  is  not 
really  believed,  and  that  none  are  so  little  attracted  to  the 
work  as  those  who  make  it.  There  may  be  a  romantic 
interest  about  the  cause ;  but,  in  fact,  it  does  not  seriously 
tempt  the  easy-going  piety  of  our  time.  If  those  who  utter 
such  things  would  raise  the  personal  question  of  sending 
a  daughter  to  Africa  or  Cliina,  or  of  giving  up  a  son  of 
ambitious  hopes  for  a  life  work  in  Persia  or  India,  they 
would  at  once  detect  their  own  insincerity.  There  is  certainly 
no  clamoring  among  the  Christian  ministry  for  foreign  fields. 
Let  a  list  of  clerksliips  or  vacant  consulships  be  advertised  for 
Shanghai  or  Calcutta,  and  there  will  be  applicants  enough. 
Let  rumors  arise  of  extensive  gold  mines  or  diamond  fields — 
anywhere — on  the  Zambezi,  or  at  the  top  of  Chimborazo,  or 
hard  by  the  North  Pole,  and  there  will  soon  be  an  eager  throng 
hastening  thither.  But  as  to  mission  work,  the  attraction  is 
nearer  home.     A   chui'ch  within  twenty  miles  of  New  York 


FAVORABLE   TESTIMONY    OF   TRAVELERS.  165 

reported,  some  time  since,  over  fifty  applications  for  a  vacant 
pastorate  ;  and  a  village  church  in  Central  New  York,  during 
a  protracted  vacancy,  was  beset  by  eighty  applicants. 

The  students  in  our  Theological  Seminaries  understand  this 
question  of  attractive  fields  very  well.  With  visions  of  "  flat- 
tering calls,"  anti  "appreciative  congi-egations,"  and  "nice 
IDlaces,"  and  "good  places  to  commence  in,"  strongly  tempting 
them,  they  take  up  the  question  of  the  foreign  field,  if  at  all, 
as  a  matter  of  conscience  and  duty.  They  know  very  well 
that  the  foreign  work  means  the  consecration  of  their  powers 
for  life;  whereas  an  American  pastorate,  whether  in  New  Jersey 
or  in  Kansas,  does  not  debar  them  from  the  very  hit^hest  posi- 
tions in  the  gift  of  the  Chnrch.  In  the  Foreign  field,  the  habit 
of  thinking  and  speaking  in  another  tongue  qualifies  for  work 
there,  and  there  only;  while  on  our  own  shores  there  is  no 
place  so  obscure  that  high  talent  and  industry  will  not  be 
sought  out  by  the  demands  of  the  leading  churches. 

It  may  be  doubted  whether  the  majority  of  men,  on  en- 
tering the  minisbry,  even  admit  the  question  of  going  to  the 
Foreign  field.  As  yet  the  great  work  of  missions  stands  upon 
the  grounds  of  duty. 


XXIX. 

THE     FAVORABLE    TESTIMONY    OF    TRAVELERS 
AND  OTHERS  TO  THE  VALUE  OF  MISSIONS. 

So  MUCH  of  criticism  has  been  published  by  travelers  who 
were  without  sympathy  with  the  cause  of  Missions,  that  it 
sf^ems  desirable  to  present  the  counter-testimony  of  those  who, 
from  a  deeper  interest  in  the  subject,  have  given  it  greater 
attention,  and  have  reached  very  different  conclusions.  The 
persons  referred  to  represent  all  classes  and  nil  vocations. 
They  arc  naval  officers,  merchants,  government  officials,  editors, 
and  clergymen.     Some  of  them  Ijuve  had  the  ohjectiuns  of  the 


166  THE   GKEAT   CONQUEST. 

critics  in  view,  and  have  not  only  refuted,  but  have  pointed  out 
the  motives  which  too  often  inspire  them. 

Admiral  Wilkes,  after  his  visit  to  Tahiti,  says:  "I  cannot 
pass,  without  notice,  the  untiring  efforts  of  many  of  the  foreign 
residents  to  disparnge  the  missionaries  and  vilify  the  natives. 
There  are  about  a  hundred  characters  of  this  description  on  the 
Island.  On  being  asked  for  the  grounds  of  their  objection, 
most  of  them  fxil  in  presenting  any  other  charges  than  that  the 
missionaries  are  endeavoring  to  make  the  natives  too  good; 
that  they  deprive  them  of  the  innocent  pleasure  of  intoxicating 
di-inks ;  that  they  prevent  promiscuous  intercourse  and  have 
ruined  the  trade  of  the  Islands  by  preventing  women  from  going 
on  hoard  of  the  ships.  Others  argue  that  the  people  are  only 
rendered  more  miserable  by  being  taught  their  responsibility  as 
accountable  beings." 

He  adds  :  "As  a  proof  of  the  value  of  missionary  labors,  my 
experience  warrants  me  in  saying  that  the  natives  of  Tahiti, 
once  given  to  perpetual  iiitesthie  broils  and  the  worship  of  idols 
propitiated  by  human  sacrifices,  are  now  honest,  well-behaved, 
and  obliging  ;  that  no  drunkenness  or  rioting  is  seen,  except 
when  provoked  by  white  visitors,  and  that  they  are  obedient  to 
the  laws  and  to  their  rulers." 

Admiral  Fitzroy,  who  visited  Tahiti  in  1835,  says :  "Never 
in  my  life  have  I  seen  a  happier  or  more  cheerful  people  than 
in  the  Islands  of  Otaheite.  To  almost  every  island  of  the  South 
Seas,  ships  may  now  come  and  their  crews  land  without  fear  of 
being  massacred.  Yet  I  am  sorry  to  say,  that  many  seamen 
who  have  visited  these  islands  have  been  guilty  of  base  ingrati- 
tude in  depreciating  the  labors  of  those  very  missionaries  to 
whom  they  pr  >bably  owed  their  lives." 

Hon.  Richard  H.  Dana,  who  visited  the  Sandwich  Islands  in 
1860,  says  :  "  Whereas  the  missionaries  found  these  Islanders  a 
nation  of  half  naked  savages,  living  in  the  surf  and  on  the  sand, 
eating  raw  fish,  fighting  aaiong  themselves,  tyrannized  over  by 
feudal  chiefs,  and  abandoned  to  sensuality  ;  they  now  see  them 


FAVORABLE   TESTIMONY    OF   TRAVELERS.  167 

decently  clothed,  recognizing  the  laws  of  marriage,  going  to 
school  and  church  with  more  regularity  than  our  people  do  at 
home,  and  the  more  elevated  portion  of  them  taking  part  in  the 
constitutional  monarchy  under  which  they  live."  And  then  Mi*. 
Dana  adds :  ."  Tlie  mere  seekers  of  pleasure,  power,  or  gain,  do 
not  like  the  missionary  influence." 

"  Those  who  sympathize  with  that  officer  of  the  American  Nuvxj 
who  compelled  the  authorities  to  alloio  tvomen  lo  gn  off  to  his  ship 
by  opening  his  p)orts  and  threatening  to  bombard  the  town,  are 
naturally  hostile  to  Missions." 

One  of  the  best  endorsements  ever  given  to  the  work  of  Mis- 
sions is  found  in  the  fact,  that  in  1857,  when  the  American  Board 
was  embarrassed  by  a  financial  crisis  at  home,  several  leading 
men  of  England  who  had  closely  observed  the  work  carried  on 
in  Turkey  and  Syiia,  formed  what  is  known  as  the  "Turkish 
Mission  Aid  Society,"  with  a  view  to  assisting  the  effirls 
already  begun. 

Tliis  action  did  great  honor  to  the  American  missionaries,  and 
also  evinced  the  magnnnimity  of  those  who  formed  the  Snciety. 
The  high  esteem  in  which  these  men  held  this  cause  is  indicated 
by  the  following  : 

At  an  anniversary  of  the  Society  in  1860,  the  Eai'l  of  Shaftes- 
bury said  :  "  I  do  not  believe  that  in  the  whole  liistory  of  Mis- 
sions, I  do  not  believe  that  in  the  history  of  diplomacy,  or  in 
the  history  of  any  negotiation  carried  on  between  man  and  man, 
we  can  find  anything  to  equal  the  wisdom,  the  soundness,  and 
the  pure  Evangelical  truth  of  the  men  who  constitute  the 
American  Mission.  I  have  said  it  twenty  times  before,  and  I 
will  say  it  again — for  the  expression  appropriately  conveys  my 
meaning — that  they  are  a  marvelous  combination  of  common- 
sense  and  piety." 

And  to  the  same  point  is  the  following  note  written  by 
Lord  Stratford  de  Redclitfe,  who  was  formerly  British  Minis 
ter  at  Constantinople.  The  note  was  written  in  acknowledgment 
of  a  copy  of  the  Life  of  the  late  Dr.  Goodell,  which  had  been 
sent  to  Lord  Ecddifle  by  the  author,  llcv.  E.  D.  G.  Prime,  D.D.: 


168  THE    GREAT   CONQUEST. 

"Front  Sussex,  Oct.  24,  1875. 
^''Reverend  Sir  : 

"  I  hasten  to  inform  you  that  I  have  received  the  copy  you 
sent  me,  of  the  hite  Dr.  Goodell's  Memoirs,  preceded  by  your 
obliging  letter.  I  am  deeply  sensible  of  the  kindness  which 
suggested  both  the  one  and  the  other.  You  could  not  have 
gratified  me  more  than  by  putting  me  in  possession  of  the 
Memoirs.  I  entertained  a  sincere  esteem  and  affectionate  regard 
for  Dr.  Goodell.  His  single-minded  goodness  was  an  undis- 
puted title  to  Christian  love.  He  was  the  first  among  his 
equals  ;  by  which  I  mean  that  he  was  the  highest  type  of  the 
American  missionaries  of  my  time  in  the  East.  As  far  as  my 
occasions  of  observation  went,  they  were  all  endowed  with 
zeal,  good  sense,  and  loving-kindness.  Our  reverend  and 
lamented  friend  displayed  these  qualities  in  the  highest  degree 
and  added  a  charm  of  character  and  manner  peculiarly  his  own. 

"  I  beg  you  vnW  believe  me  very  sincerely  and  gratefully 
yours,  Stkatfoed  de  Redcliffe." 

Many  official  testimonies  might  be  gathered  from  nearly  all 
the  Mission  fields,  but  the  fi)llowing  must  suffice  : 

The  Government  Report  on  the  Tinnevelly  District,  India, 
for  1874,  says : 

"  The  Protestant  missions  .  .  .  have  made  rapid  strides  in  re- 
cent years  in  the  conversion  of  the  inhabitants  to  Christianity 
.  .  .  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  Christian  knowledge  and  doc- 
trine are  meeting  with  increased  acceptance  among  the  people 
of  the  Tinnevelly  District,  while  an  immense  amount  of  good 
work  has  been  done  by  the  earnest  and  zealous  agents  of  these 
missionary  societies  in  the  education  of  the  people.  Already 
the  native  Christian  community  of  the  District  is  contributing 
largely  to  the  support  of  its  own  pastors  and  teachers." 

The  First  Prince  of  Travancore,  in  a  popular  address  deliv- 
ered in  1874,  thus  gave  his  impressions  of  Christianity  :  "  Mar- 
velous has  been  the  effect  of  Christianity  in  the  moral  molding 
and  leavening  of  Europe.     I  am  not  a  Christian  ;  I  do  not  ac- 


FAVORABLE   TESTIMONY   OF   TKAVELER8.  169 

cept  the  cardinal  tenets  of  Cliristianity  as  they  concern  man  in 
the  next  world  ;  but  I  accept  Christian  ethics  in  their  entirety. 
I  have  the  l;ighest  admiration  for  them." 

An  English  officer  in  the  civil  service  of  India  showed 
his  opinion  practically,  by  procuring  a  native  catechist  (see 
Cliurch  Missionary  Reports  of  1874-5)  to  labor  in  his  district, 
and  he  defi'ayed  the  entire  expense  of  his  salary  and  his  house. 

The  Governor  of  Ceylon  said  in  a  recent  speech  before  his 
Council :  "I  know  of  no  country  where  missionary  enterprise 
is  doing  better  work  than  here,  or  where  there  is  less  of  the 
odium  Theologicum." 

While  visiting  India  in  1874-5,  I  drew  up  a  long  list  of 
prominent  officers  of  the  civil  and  military  service,  several  of 
them  of  the  very  highest  rank,  who  are  now  liberally  support- 
ing the  various  missionary  enterprises;  and  it  is  worthy  of  note, 
that  some  of  the  most  generous  subscriptions  for  this  work 
have  been  made  by  wealthy  Hindus,  Parsees,  and  Mohamme- 
dans. And  yet,  who  can  form  a  better  estimate  of  the  cause 
than  the  leading  men  of  the  country,  natives  and  foreign  resi- 
dents, who  for  years  have  observed  its  practical  woi-kings  ? 

As  to  China,  a  very  prominent  official  resident  declared  last 
year,  that  in  his  opinion,  the  missionaries  were  doing  more  to 
regenerate  the  Empire  than  all  the  diplomatic  representatives 
of  Foreign  Powers. 

Similar  commendations  from  official  residents  in  Mexico  have 
frequently  been  accorded  to  missionaries  and  their  work  in  that 
new,  but  most  promising  field. 

Of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  we  have  like  testimony  from 
actual  I'esidents.  In  1853,  Chief-Justice  Lee  recorded  the 
following:  "  In  no  part  of  the  world  are  hfc  and  property 
more  safe  than  in  the  Sanwich  Islands.  Murders,  robberies, 
and  the  higher  class  of  felonies  are  quite  unknown  here  ;  and 
in  city  and  country  we  retire  to  our  sleep  conscious  of  the  most 
entire  security.  The  stranger  may  travel  from  one  end  of  the 
group  to  the  other,  over'  mountains  and  through  woods,  sleep- 
ing in  grass  huts,  unarmed,  alone,  and  unprotected,  with  any 


170  THE    GREAT    CONQUEST. 

amount  of  treasure  on  his  person,  and  without  a  tithe  of  the 
vigilance  required  in  older  and  more  civilized  countries,  go 
unrobbed  of  a  penny." 

The  Hon.  C.  C.  Harris,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  in  a 
speech  at  the  National  Jubilee  of  tlie  Islands,  held  at  Honolulu, 
June,  1870,  says  :  "In  1825,  the  Hawaiians  were  ignorant  and 
debased In  1870,  we  see  them  advanced  to  a  high  de- 
gree of  Christian  knowled^,  general  education,  civilization,  and 
material  prosperity.  The  result  is  due  for  the  most  part,  under 
God,  to  the  labors  of  the  American  missionaries." 

The  effect  of  a  pure  gospel  in  Eastern  Turkey  is  thus 
described  by  Hagop  Effendi,  civil  head  of  the  Protestant  com- 
munity, who  made,  three  years  since,  at  the  Sultan's  expense, 
an  extensive  tour  of  observation  :  "  Those  who  have  become 
Protestant  in  principle  far  exceed  in  number  the  registered 
Protestants,  and  those  who  are  willing  to  avow  themselves 
such.  The  indirect  influence  of  Pi-otestautism  has  been  greater 
and  healthier  than  what  is  apparent.  The  fact  that  eighty-live 
per  cent,  of  the  adults  in  the  [Protestant]  commurtity  can  read, 
speaks  greatly  in  favor  of  its  members.  Any  one- acquainted 
with  the  social  condition  and  religious  ideas  of  the  Oriental 
people,  can  readily  imagine  the  state  of  society  which  must 
necessarily  follow  such  a  change.  I  was  gratified  to  find 
everywhere  a  great  improvement  in  domestic  relations  as 
compared  with  the  condition  of  families  before  they  became 
Protestants.  I  need  not  weary  our  friends  with  details  tO' 
show  the  effect  of  the  healthy  influence  of  the  various  Protes- 
tant institutions^ — such  as  Sabbath-schools,  social  prayer-meet- 
ings, women's  meetings,  and  the  little  philanthropic  associations 
coming  into  existence  v/ith  the  advance  of  Protestantism." 

In  a  letter  to  Secretary  Clark  of  the  American  Board,  he 
makes  the  following  statements :  "  The  most  zealous  advocate 
of  American  ciailisation  could  not  have  done  half  as  much  for  his 
country  abroad  as  the  missionary  has  done.  The  religious  and 
social  organizations,  the  various  institutions  introduced,  are  do- 
ing a  great  deal  in  introducing  American  civilization.     From 


FAVORABLE   TESTIMONY    OF   TRAVELERS.  171 

the  Wild  mountains  of  Gaour  Dagli,  in  Cilicia,  you  may  go 
across  to  the  no  less  wild  mountains  of  Bhotan,  on  the  borders 
of  Persia ;  or  you  may  take  Antioch,  if  you  please,  and  go  on 
any  line  to  the  black  shores  of  the  Euxine ;  you  will  certainly 
agree  with  me  in  declaring  that  the  American  missionary  has 
served  his  country  no  less  than  his  Master.  Even  in  wild 
Kurdistan  you  will  find  some  one  who  can  reason  with  you  quite 
in  Yankee  style,  can  make  you  a  speech  which  you  cannot  but 
own  to  be  substantially  Yankee,  with  Yankee  idioms  and 
American  examples  to  support  his  arguments;  and  if  you  want 
to  satisfy  your  curiosity  still  more,  you  may  pay  your  visit  to 
the  schools  established  by  the  missionaries  in  the  wild  moun- 
tains of  the  Turkomans,  in  Kurdistan,  the  plains  of  Mesopota- 
mia, Cappadocia,  or  Bithynia.  Question  the  school-boy  as  you 
would  at  home  ;  you  will  find  his  answers  quite  familiar  to  you. 
You  may  question  him  on  geography,  and  you  will  certainly 
find,  to  your  surprise,  that  he  knows  more  of  the  United  States 
than  perhaps  of  his  own  native  country.  Question  him  about 
social  order,  he  wull  tell  you  that  all  men  are  created  equal. 
Indeed,  ivhat  Dr.  Hamlin  is  silently  doing  loith  his  Robert  Col- 
lege, and  the  American  missionary  tvith  his  Theological  Seminary 
and  school-books,  all  European  diplomatists  united  cannot  over- 
balance." 

But  as  certain  travelers  from  our  own  country  have  perhaps 
e.xerted  the  greatest  influence  by  their  criticisms  of  missiona- 
ries and  their  work,  the  opinions  of  a  different  class  who 
have  made  the  same  journeys  may  here  be  added. 

Kev.  E.  D.  G.  Prime,  D.D.,  one  of  the  editors  of  the  JVeio 
York  Observer,  has  given  a  complete  vindication  of  the  Mission 
work,  as  he  saw  it  in  a  journey  around  the  world  in  1870-71. 
We  quote  the  following  :  "  After  having  embraced  every  op- 
portunity for  becoming  acquainted  with  the  Christian  laborers 
from  every  land  and  with  their  work,  I  returned  with  a  higher 
estimate  than  I  ever  had  before  of  the  ability,  learning,  and  de- 
votion of  the  missionaries  as  a  class  and  as  a  whole  ;  with  an 
enlarged  view  of  what  has  already  been  accomplished,  and  with 


172  THE   GREAT    CONQUEST. 

a  profounder  conviction  that  through  this  instrumentality,  or 
that  which  shall  iraraediately  grow  out  of  it,  the  kingdom  of 
our  Lord  and  Saviour  is  to  be  established  in  the  vs'hole  earth 
more  speedily  than  the  weak  faith  of  the  Church  has  dared 
even  to  hope.  It  is  not  at  all  invidious  to  say  that  most  casual 
travelers  have  visited  foreign  lands  with  little  interest  in  the 
Christian  work  that  is  going  on,  and,  of  courBe,  they  saw  little 
of  it.  They  received  their  impressions  very  generally  from  per- 
sons who  are  not  in  sympathy  Avith  it This  is  the 

true  explanation  of  some  of  the  most  envenomed  attacks  that 
have  been  made  upon  the  missionaries  of  the  Cross,  and  of  much 
of  the  misrepresentation  of  the  work  in  which  they  are  engaged. 
"  Within  about  a  year  it  was  my  privilege  to  take  by  the 
hand  nearly  every  Protestant  missionary  in  Japan,  a  large  num- 
ber of  those  in  China,  India,  Egypt,  Syria,  Turkey,  and  some 
of  the  islands  of  the  sea  ;  I  enjoyed  the  greatest  freedom  of  in- 
tercourse with  them  in  their  distant  homes,  and  saw  them  in  all 
the  departments  of  their  labor  ;  and  I  can  truly  say  that  I  have 
never  mingled  with  any  class  of  men  who  have  more  entirely 
M'on  my  respect  and  esteem  for  their  own  and  their  works' 
sake.  The  Chui'ch  of  Christ  has  not  anywhere  a  class  of  labor- 
ers who  are  more  zealously,  faithfully,  or  successfully  carrying 
on  its  work.  They  are  living  frugally,  often  very  scantily,  on 
salaries  that  bear  no  proportion  to  the  pay  of  foreigners  en- 
gaged in  the  most  ordinary  occupations  of  worldly  business 
around  them  ;  many  I  know  could  at  any  moment  quadruple 
their  salaries  by  accepting  standing-  offers  of  employment  in 
other  service  ;  but  they  are  toiling  on,  not  patiently,  but  joyful- 
ly, feeling  that  they  are  engaged  in  a  great  work  from  which 
they  cannot  come  down,  and  looking  for  their  reward  in  the 
fruit  of  their  labor.  Among  all  the  Christian  missionaries  with 
whom  it  was  my  lot  to  meet,  I  cannot  recall  a  single  instance 
in  which  one  of  them,  man  or  woman,  expressed  the  least  dis- 
satisfaction with  their  work,  or  discouragement  in  I'egard  to  its 
final  success,  or  the  slightest  desire  to  give  it  up  and  enter  any 
service  in  any  other  part  of  the  world. 


FAVORABLE   TESTIMONY   OF   TRAVELERS.  173 

"I  met  casually  with  an  illustration  of  the  fact  that  ignorance 
is  the  cause  of  much  of  the  prejudice  against  Missions  and  mis- 
sionaries  that  prevails  even  with  persons  who  might  be  sup- 
posed to  be  in  a  position  to  know  something  of  their  real  char- 
acter. An  American  merchant  of  Bombay  stated  to  me  that  on 
going  to  India  and  being  in  constant  intercourse  with  commer- 
cial and  sea-faring  men  from  various  parts  of  the  world,  he  al- 
most unconsciously  imbibed  the  views  which  they  expressed  so 
freely,  and  after  a  time  he  came  to  look  upon  the  missionaries 
as  men  who  were  leading  an  easy  life  and  bringing  very  little  to 
pass.  The  interruption  of  the  ordinary  financial  arrangements 
between  America  and  the  East  by  our  late  civil  war,  made 
it  necessary  for  him  to  visit  the  interior  of  Hindoostan,  and  to 
spend  some  time  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  American 
missionaries,  where  he  saw  them  in  their  domesiic  and  social 
life,  and  in  their  daily  employments.  The  result  was  that  his 
views  were  entirely  changed.  I  have  never  heard  more  flatter- 
ing testimony  than  he  bore  to  their  character  and  to  their  self- 
denying  toil.  The  most  honored  civilians  in  India,  and  the 
most  renowned  military  men,  have  given  the  same  unqualified 
testimony  to  the  high  character  and  eminent  worth  of  our  mis- 
sionaries and  to  the  value  of  their  labors.  Only  the  enemies  of 
the  Cross  have  attempted  to  depreciate  either  the  one  or  the 
other. 

"The  success  of  Christian  Missions  nothing  but  ignorance  or 
prejudice  could  call  in  question.  What  has  actually  been  ac- 
complished can  be  flilly  appreciated  only  by  those  who  have 
been  upon  the  ground  and  who  have  witnessed  the  condition  of 
Pagan  nations.  The  vast  preliminary  work — the  acquisition  of 
the  languages  of  the  world,  many  of  them  found  unwritten  ; 
their  redaction  to  systematic  form ;  the  preparation  of  gram- 
mars, and  dictionaries,  and  educational  books  ;  the  translation 
of  the  Holy  Scriptures  into  the  various  tongues ;  the  prepara- 
tion of  a  scientific  and  Christian  literature — all  this  and  much 
more  has  been  accomplished  for  nearly  the  entire  world. 
There  is  now  scarcely  any  considerable  portion  of  the  earth  ia 


174  THE    GEE  AT   CONQUEST. 

which  the  foundation  has  not  been  laid  for  the  complete  success 

of  the  gospel Not  even  in  the  early  centuries  of  the 

Church  were  the  triumphs  of  Christianity  more  wonderful  than 
they  have  been  jn  connection  with  modern  Missions." 

The  following  is  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Joseph  Mackay,  a  prom- 
inent merchant  of  Montreal,  with  whom  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
traveling  in  various  Eastern  countries,  and  to  whose  kindness 
I  am  much  indebted.  Accompanied  in  his  travels  by  his  ac- 
complished niece,  he  saw  much  of  social  life,  both  among  Eng- 
lish and  American  residents.  He  also  met  many  business  men 
— those  who  were  hostile  as  well  as  those  who  were  friendly  to 
missionaries.  Few  travelers  have  so  good  an  opportunity  to 
look  on  all  sides  of  the  missionary  problem : 

"From  recent  personal  observations  in  Japan,  China,  and 
India,  I  feel  that  not  one-half  is  generally  known  of  the  great 
work  done  by  those  who,  resigning  almost  all  that  makes  life 
precious,  have  devoted  themselves  to  the  service  of  God  in 
heathen  lands.  Though  my  journey  was  undertaken  for  health 
and  pleasure,  I  embraced  every  opportunity  to  visit  the  mission- 
aries, and  learn  of  their  work. 

"  In  Japan  I  was  much  gratified,  not  only  by  the  numbers  in 
attendance  at  the  native  churches  and  schools,  and  their  eager- 
ness to  learn,  but  above  all,  by  the  desire  of  many  of  the  male 
converts  to  become  themselves  missionaries.  Such  men  as  Dr. 
Hepburn  and  his  missionary  co-workers  who,  by  their  ability 
and  uniform  Godly  example,  have  inspired  universal  respect, 
are  the  best  civilizers  of  the  country.  The  secular  school  sys- 
tem I  believe  is  good ;  and  if  we  add  to  this  the  Christian  teach- 
ing of  missionary  laborers,  we  may,  with  the  divine  blessing, 
expect  that  in  our  own  day  the  Islands  of  Japan  will  be 
Christianized. 

"  At  Shanghai  I  found  valuable  schools,  native  churches,  and 
the  largest  printing  press  in  the  Empire.  This  is  employed 
chiefly  in  the  publishing  of  religious  books ;  though  school 
books  and  other  useful  matter  are  printed  there. 

"  I  was  fortunate  in  being  at  NiHgpo  on  the  evening  on 


FAVORABLE   TESTIMONY   OF   TRAVELERS.  ITS 

which  the  missionaries  held  their  monthly  conference  for  coun- 
sel, mutual  support,  and  prayer, 

"  I  was  cordially  invited  to  be  present,  and  found  it  truly- 
good  to  be  there.  It  was  very  cheering  to  see  the  harmony- 
prevailing  among  the  Christian  workers,  though  of  different  de- 
nominations— Methodists,  Baptists,  Episcopalians,  and  Presby- 
terians: all  doctrinal  differences  were  forgotten  in  the  one 
anxiety  to  save  the  poor  ignorant  heathen. 

"An  able  paper  was  read  on  the  question, '  Whether  the  gospel 
had  been  so  widely  proclaimed  in  the  Ningpo  district  as  to 
warrant  special  prayer  for  a  general  revival.'  The  discussion 
following  was  most  interesting.  I  gathered  from  it,  that  the 
truth  had  been  heard  by  many,  many  thousands  in  that  great 
and  densely-populated  valley  of  the  Ningpo  River,  and  that 
only  the  outpouring  of  God's  Spirit  was  needed  to  secure  a 
Pentecostal  blessing. 

"  I  observed  the  great  plainness  and  economy  in  which  the  mis- 
sionaries lived,  instead  of  the  luxury  and  ease  of  which  they  are 
sometimes  accused. 

"  In  JajDan  I  had  heard  it  said, '  Oh,  missionaries  are  the  only 
thriving  people  here.'  Having  heard  such  criticisms,  I  am  the 
more  ready  to  testify  from  repeated  personal  observations  to 
the  frugality,  yea,  even  bareness  of  missionaries'  homes.  The 
laborer  is  snrely  worthy  of  his  hire !  It  should  be  sufficient  to 
be  separated  from  kith  and  kin,  from  home  with  its  associations, 
and  all  that  is  dear,  to  live  among  a  people  wholly  antagonistic 
to  one's  better  feelings,  without  having  to  lack  almost  the  neces- 
saries of  life. 

"  At  Canton  I  met  the  missionaries  of  various  Societies,  both 
in  their  homes  and  in  one  of  their  social  meetings.  Their  field, 
the  vast  city  with  over  a  million  inhabitants,  and  the  neighbor- 
ing villages  for  thirty  miles  round,  is  so  densely  populated,  as 
scarcely  to  allow  one  missionary  to  every  hundred  thousand. 
A  large  congregation  of  natives  assembled  on  Sunday  morning 
under  the  pastorate  of  Dr.  Happer,  who  also  conducts  a  class  of 
young  men  with  a  view  to  the  ministry.     There  is  also  a  pros- 


176  THE   GREAT  CONQUEST. 

perous  school  for  young  Avomcn;  but  the  peculiar  feature  in 
Canton  work  is  the  Hospital,,  under  the  able  management  of 
Dr.  J.  G.  Kerr,  who  is  assisted  by  native  medical  students. 
Whilst  alleviating  the  physical  sufferings  of  the  Chinese,  he 
speaks  of  Christ,  '  the  Great  Physician.'  I  wish  there  were 
more  medical  missionaries  in  the  field,  as  they  have  such  peculiar 
facilities  of  reaching  the  people. 

"In  India  I  visited  the  Christian  colleges  in  Madras  and  Cal- 
cutta, in  both  of  which  I  was  greatly  interested,  I  foimd  Rev. 
Mr.  Kellogg,  of  the  American  Presbyterian  Mission,  lecturing 
in  the  Mission  Church  to  a  class  of  fifteen  Theological  students, 
all  native  converts.  This  seemed  to  me  to  be  one  of  the  great 
hopes  of  India,  the  raising  up  of  a  native  ministry.  Female 
Medical  Missions  also,  and  Zenana  Missions  are  steadily  doing 
their  work.  Dehra  has  a  large  boarding-school  fur  native 
girls,  under  Rev.  Mr.  Herron,  of  the  American  Presbyterian 
Board  ;  also  one  for  boys,  the  head  master  of  which,  a  native 
Christian,  came  forward  to  me,  saying,  '  I  am  proud  to  have 
studied  under  Dr.  Duff,  at  Calcutta.' 

"  It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  mention  the  venerable  Dr. 
John  Newton,  who  with  four  sons  and  a  son-in-law  is  working 
in  the  Master's  cause  at  and  near  Lahore.  Would  that  there 
were  more  such  noble  spirits. 

"At  Bombay  I  attended  church  service  on  two  Sabbath 
mornings,  under  the  pastorate  of  the  late  Dr.  Wilson.  Large 
and  attentive  audiences  were  present,  and  though  over  seventy 
years  of  age,  he  preached  twice  on  that  Sunday,  besides 
teaching  his  Bible-classes  and  having  the  supervision  of  sev- 
eral Mission  schools. 

"  His  was  the  last  hand  I  grasped  on  leaving  India  ;  and  now 
tidings  have  reached  us  of  the  great  and  good  man's  death.  It 
is  a  sad  loss  to  India ;  for  he  was  devoted,  not  only  to  his 
Master's  work,  but  to  every  scheme  conducive  to  the  pros- 
perity of  the  country.  There  can  be  no  greater  or  nobler  work 
than  that  to  Avhich  he  gave  his  life.     Many  will  arise  to  call 


FOREIGN   MISSIONARY   STATISTICS.  1Y7 

him  blessed.     I  wisli  that  the  faithful  woi'k  of  sucli  as  he  could 
be  better  known  by  the  Cl\ristian  Church  at  home." 


XXX. 

FOREIGN    MISSION AKY   STATISTICS    OF   THE 
PKOTESTANT  CHURCHES. 

The  following  tabular  presentation  of  the  Protestant  Mission 
work  already  accomplished  has  been  prepared  with  much  labor 
and  care  by  Rev.  D.  Irving,  D.  D.,  one  of  the  Secretaries  of 
the  Presbyterian  Board.  This  is  the  very  latest  summary  that 
has  been  given  to  the  public,  and  will  be  found  far  more  en- 
couraging in  its  exhibit  than  any  which  has  been  published 
heretofore.  The  explanatory  note  is  given  in  the  author's  own 
Words4 

We  have  endeavored  in  the  following  table  to  bring  the  work  of  the  leading  Mis- 
sionary Societies  into  harmony,  and  make  them  cover  the  same  operations  and  include 
the  same  class  of  agents.  There  is  a  great  difference  in  the  methods  of  makin^  up 
statistical  tables  by  different  Societies,  which  prevents  a  fuller  division  of  the  native 
laborers  into  ordained  and  unordained.  We  tried  to  make  a  list  of  the  wives  of  mis- 
sionaries and  the  unmarried  ladies,  but  a  large  number  of  the  Societies  do  not  report 
them,  and  the  table  would  be  rendered  very  imperfect  by  inserting  only  those  that  were 
known.  Some  of  the  Continental  reports  embrace  only  those  that  were  issued  in  1873 
also  a  very  few  of  the  smaller  British  and  American  Societies.  In  one  or  two  we  had  to 
approximate  to  the  membership,  as  in  the  Netherlands  Missionary  Society  in  two  of  its 
missions.  From  the  list  of  adherents,  however,  we  have  given  only  a  small  percentage 
of  the  same  as  communicants.  The  last  report  of  the  Propagation  Society  is  very 
incomplete.  We  have  thrown  out  its  Colonial  work,  as  also  that  of  the  Wesleyan 
Society;  but  in  the  former  we  had  to  take  statistics  of  earlier  reports  to  make  the  aggre- 
gate as  presented  in  this  table.  Owing  to  these  imperfections,  this  tabular  statement  is 
only  an  approximation  to  what  is  correct  and  true.  We  have  not  been  able  to  obtain 
the  amount  expended  by  Local  Societies,  and  have  not  included  in  the  figures  what  has 
been  expended  by  local  contributions  in  different  missions,  or  what  the  Bible  and  Tract 
Societies  have  used  for  their  distinct  operations  abroad.  The  amount  given  for  the 
specific  cause  of  Foreign  Missions  does  not  vary  much  from  $6,000,000  a  year. 


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18(1  THE   GEEAT    CONQUEST. 

XXXI. 

WHAT   CAN  BE   DONE   FOR  THE   CAUSE  OF 
MISSIONS  ? 

Very  much  may  be  accomplished  by  ecclesiastical  bodies. 
The  work  of  Missions  should  not  be  regarded  as  something 
outside  of  the  Church,  pleading  for  her  favor  and  help.  It  is 
her  own  work  And  if  the  Assembly,  or  Association,  or  Con- 
ference so  regards  it,  and  plans  and  devises  in  its  behalf,  the 
cause  is  placed  on  a  high  vantage-ground  at  the  outset.  Its 
plea  is  not  merely  authorized,  but  it  receives  virtual  pledges 
of  universal  sympathy  and  support. 

In  the  Presbyterian  Church,  great  power  lies  in  the  Presby- 
teries. By  their  thorough  organization,  they  can  secure  the 
co-operation  of  every  church,  in  the  Mission  work.  Tho}^  can 
stimulate  the  delinquent  and  see  that  the  chm'ches  without 
pastors  are  called  upon  to  contribute.  A  Board  has  no  con- 
trol over  the  contributions  of  the  churches.  It  can  only 
administer  the  funds  received.  But  the  Presbytery  has  as 
clear  a  right  to  insist  upon  the  duty  of  beneficence,  especially 
in  the  ^acknowledged  enterprises  of  the  Church,  as  upon 
sound  doctrine  or  an  orderly  walk. 

Thei-e  should  be  a  deeper  sense  of  responsibility  in  the 
Church  with  respect  to  its  representatives  in  distant  lands. 
The  Government  of  the  United  States  protects  its  citizens,  or 
maintains  the  honor  of  its  flag  at  all  cost,  and  in  any  quarter 
of  the  globe.  So,  wherever  the  Presbyterian  name  and  work 
are  represented  in  heathen  lands,  every  Presbytery  should  feel 
that  its  good  faith  and  honor  are  at  stake.  For  the  feeble 
Home  Mission  Chui'ch,  or  the  licentiate  needing  aid,  or  the 
applicant  for  ministerial  relief — all  within  its  own  bounds  it 
does  feel  a  responsibility.  But  why  not  also  for  that  one  of  its 
members  who  has  gone  to  carry  its  common  bounty  of  trutb 
and  life  to  the  ends  of  the  earih  ? 

There  is  much,  also,  that  pastora  can  do.    When  Dr.  Duff 


WHAT  CAN  BE  DONE  FOR  THE  CArSE  OF  MISSIONS  ?      181 

was  asked  by  a  Scotch  clergyman  what  ho  regarded  as  the 
chief  obstacle  to  the  success  of  Missions,  he  promptly  replied, 
"  The  greatest  obstacle  lies  in  the  apathy  and  indifference  of 
ministers."  Certain  it  is  that  differences  of  fifty,  or  a  hundred, 
or  even  two  hundred  percent,  will  often  appear  in  the  contri- 
butions of  the  same  church  under  different  pastorates.  A 
pastor  has  opportunities  which  none  else  can  command. 
He  can  preach  on  the  subject  of  Missions  at  suitable  inter- 
vals, presenting  facts  and  arguments  that  shall  inform  the 
ignorant  and  quicken  the  apathetic.  It  is  not  safe  to  assume 
that  the  masses  even  of  the  Church  are  familiar  with  the  work 
of  IVIissions.  Facts  are  pubHshed  abundantly,  but  the  people 
do  not  read  them.  There  is  a  class  of  men  who,  through 
ignorance,  are  sceptical  on  the  whole  subject,  and  it  seems 
impossible  to  reach  them.  They  are  never  at  the  Monthly 
Concert  or  at  missionary  meetings  of  any  Mud,  and  they  do 
not  read  missionary  publications.  But  there  is  one,  and  one 
only,  mode  of  reaching  them.  They  are  at  church  on  Sab- 
bath mornings,  and  the  pastor,  in  a  missionary  sermon,  may 
constrain  them  to  consider  the  subject.  None  so  well  as  he 
can  overcome  the  scepticism,  arouse  the  apathy,  and  dispel  the 
pretexts  of  this  class. 

There  is  a  work  to  be  done  by  the  officers  and  members  of 
the  Church.  Churches  are  too  apt  to  feel  that  it  is  wholly 
optional  to  give  or  withhold  when  the  claims  of  Missions  are 
presented.  Perhaps  the  oversight  and  stimulus  of  the  Pres- 
bytery are  even  resented  in  some  cases.  But  really  the 
Presbytery  is  only  urging  a  virtual  pledge.  In  the  last  analysis 
it  is  the  churches  that  have  ordained  the  Mission  work.  The 
Board  is  but  a  servant  of  the  Assembly.  And  what  is  the 
Assembly  but  a  body  of  representatives  chosen  through  the 
Presbyteries  by  the  churches  ?  By  the  very  polity  of  the  de 
nomination,  every  church  and  every  member  has  had  a 
voice  in  the  great  enterprises  which  have  been  undertaken, 
and  may  justly  be  held  to  his  responsibility.  Much  depends 
on  the  church  officers.     If,  as  is  sometimes  the  case,  the  paStor 


182  THE    GREAT    CONQUEST. 

himself  is  indifferent,  the  elders  or  deacons  have  the  greater 
responsibility.  They  can  prepare  facts  for  the  Monthly  Concert, 
and  evince  so  deep  an  interest  that  the  pastor  with  others  will 
soon  be  enkindled.  They  may  see  that  the  collections  are 
taken  in  spite  of  church  debts  and  building  enterprises,  and 
that  the  missionary  periodicals  are  read  by  the  people. 

There  is  also  a  work  for  Missions  which  none  can  do  so  well 
as  the  superintendent  and  teachers  of  the  Sabbath-school.  It 
is  marvelous  that  its  importance  should  be  so  of  ten  overlooked. 
Not  a  tithe  of  this  power  has  been  developed. 

There  is  no  greater  mistake  than  that  of  allowing  the  young 
to  grow  up  without  a  missionary  spirit.  How  is  the  work  to 
be  perpetuated,  if  the  children  are  not  taught  to  regard  it  ? 
It  is  sui-prifing  that  even  those  who  insist  that  every  chui'ch 
should  do  its  part  in  the  work  of  Foreign  Missions,  seem  to 
feel  that  it  is  of  little  moment  to  train  the  children  to  the 
same  responsible  interest.  TJiey  may  give  at  random  to  any 
fancy  scheme  they  choose  whether  in  the  chm'ch  or  out  of  it. 
All  this  is  wrong.  The  children  should  be  trained  to  follow 
up  the  work  of  their  fathers  at  home  and  abroad. 

All  Sabbath-schools,  great  or  small,  should  contribute  to 
Foreign  Missions.  The  future  work,  for  which  they  should 
thus  be  training,  will  be  far  grander  than  that  of  to-day. 

The  mission  cause  is  of  late  placing  great  reliance  upon 
the  women  of  the  church.  What  they  may  do  will  best  be 
seen  in  the  example  of  what  some  are  already  doing.  The 
same  degree  of  effort,  if  participated  in  by  all  the  women  of 
the  church,  would  reheve  the  difficulties  of  Mission  Boards, 
and  give  a  great  impulse  to  the  work.  In  each  congregation 
there  are  capable  ones — two  or  three  at  least — whose  influence 
might  leaven  the  whole  community,  rousing  the  church,  and, 
if  need  be,  the  pastor  himself. 

A  Missionary  Auxihary,  though  feeble  at  first,  should  be 
formed  in  each  hamlet,  and  such  means  as  womanly  aptness 
can  always  invent,  should  be  devised  for  doing  something. 

In  zenana  bands  the  young  ladies  of  the  congregation  may 


WHAT  CAN  BE  DONE  FOR  THE  CAUSE  OF  MISSIONS  ?      183 

learn  usefulness  and  do  a  present  good  by  their  needle-work 
and  other  enterprises.  It  should  not  be  said,  as  it  too  often 
is,  that  in  our  social  life  "  there  is  nothing  for  the  young  to  do 
but  to  dance."     Social  beneficence  is  full  of  reflex  blessing. 

Every  young  man  should  consecrate  himself  to  the  work 
of  ■  Missions.  Some  should  do  this  directly ;  while  others 
should  just  as  truly  give  themselves  to  its  indu-ect  promo- 
tion. This  cause,  wliich  is  only  in  its  infancy,  cannot  dispense 
with  the  interest  and  help  of  our  young  men.  In  the  years 
which  now  draw  nigh,  there  will  be  need  of  thousands  who 
will  trade  and  do  business,  not  for  selfishness  or  vanity,  but 
for  the  spread  of  Christ's  cause. 

On  a  recent  Sabbath,  a  professed  Christian,  worth  a  million 
of  dollars,  gave  an  annual  gift  of  ten  dollars  for  Foreign 
Missions.  A  clerk  in  that  person's  employment  gave  at  the 
same  time  twenty-five  dollars.  The  latter  is  of  the  class  which 
the  advancing  interests  of  Christ's  kingdom  now  demand. 

How  great  are  the  responsibilities  which  the  spectacle  of  a 
perishing  world  lays  upon  the  rich.  A  man  of  wealth  recently 
said  to  his  pastor,  after  a  missionary  sermon :  "  My  first  con- 
tribution fi)r  Missions  was,  as  I  remember,  eight  dollars.  I 
think  I  am  now  a  thousand  times  as  able  to  give  as  then; "  and 
therewith  he  laid  down  his  pledge  for  $8,000.  Would  that 
this  honest  arithmetic  of  Christian  duty  were  oftener  applied 
by  those  who  have  ample  means.  Few  men  keep  up  the  old 
ratios  of  giving  when  God  gives  them  great  increase. 

And  yet,  why  should  they  not  ?  It  is  the  surplus  wealth 
that  can  most  easily  be  spared.  That  which  remains  over  and 
above  a  wise  provision  for  present  and  future  want  should  be 
looked  upon  as  belonging  to  God  and  to  His  cause.  One  man 
frequently  has  power  and  opportunity  for  doing  an  amount  of 
good  wliich  a  thousand  others  cannot  equal. 

And  yet  even  the  poorest  can,  and  should,  do  something.  It 
is  the  rills  that  swell  the  river  and  fill  the  ocean.  The  power 
of  Httles  is  well  known  ;  it  should  be  oftener  realized. 

The  majority  are  neither  rich  nor  poor ;  and  they  should 


184  THE   GREAT   CONQUEST. 

place  themselves  rightly  in  the  scale.  The  danger  is  that 
they  will  emulate  the  rich  in  the  indulgence  of  self,  and  count 
themselves  poor  in  their  Christian  benefactions.  The  New 
Testament  rule  is  :  "As  the  Lord  hath  prospered  every  man." 

Every  man  and  woman  in  the  church  can  pray ;  pray  the 
Lord  of  the  harvest  that  He  may  send  forth  more  laborers  ; 
pray  the  Holy  Ghost  that  He  may  incline  the  petitioner  to 
support  those  who  are  sent ;  and  pray  especially  for  that 
divine  power  which  shall  make  the  Missionary  work  a  success. 

And  this  thought  should  never  be  forgotten,  that  all  that 
human  agency  can  do  for  this  generation  of  the  heathen  world 
must  be  done  by  the  Christians  of  to-day.  Our  children,  how- 
ever faithful  in  their  time,  cannot  help  the  1,200,000,000  of 
the  perishing  who  pass  their  probation  with  us.  Going  to 
India  and  China,  they  will  only  tread  the  graves  of  those  who 
may  have  perished  through  our  neglect,  The  generation  now 
living  is  our  stewardship, 


Prmcelon  Theoloqic.il   Semirary-Speei 


1    1012  01121   2547 


Date  Due 

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